WARSAW -- We know it's illegal to text and drive, but what about getting a ticket for your iPod? That's what one Warsaw man says happened to him.
Michael Spangler says he was using his iPod Touch as a dash-cam mounted on his front windshield, much like a GPS, when he was pulled over and ticketed. He says he was using the iPod as a camera in case he was in an accident.
"A few months ago I was almost run off the road by another car and I didn't have video at the time of it." Spangler said, "When I called the police on it they said I didn't give them the full license plate on it so they couldn't do anything about it."
That's when Michael downloaded a dash-cam app on his iPod and bought a mount to put it in his windshield. And for several months, he hadn't had a problem.
Early Saturday morning, Michael received a ticket for driving with a television screen visible to the driver. According to Indiana Code 9-19-17-1, a person cannot operate a motor vehicle that has a television set installed that can be seen by the driver.
That law was written in 1991, before the days of GPS, smart phones and touch screens.
"With what (the officer is) saying, if it can play videos, you can get a ticket for this." Spangler said.
Police would not go on camera for WSBT, but a sergeant with the Warsaw Police Department said tickets like that are up to the officer's discretion.
"I'm upset, I don't have the money to pay for a ticket like this, it can be up to a $500 ticket." Spangler said.
Police would not go into the specifics of this case, but did say Spangler can always take up his disagreement with the ticket in traffic court.
Michael Spangler says he was using his iPod Touch as a dash-cam mounted on his front windshield, much like a GPS, when he was pulled over and ticketed. He says he was using the iPod as a camera in case he was in an accident.
"A few months ago I was almost run off the road by another car and I didn't have video at the time of it." Spangler said, "When I called the police on it they said I didn't give them the full license plate on it so they couldn't do anything about it."
That's when Michael downloaded a dash-cam app on his iPod and bought a mount to put it in his windshield. And for several months, he hadn't had a problem.
Early Saturday morning, Michael received a ticket for driving with a television screen visible to the driver. According to Indiana Code 9-19-17-1, a person cannot operate a motor vehicle that has a television set installed that can be seen by the driver.
That law was written in 1991, before the days of GPS, smart phones and touch screens.
"With what (the officer is) saying, if it can play videos, you can get a ticket for this." Spangler said.
Police would not go on camera for WSBT, but a sergeant with the Warsaw Police Department said tickets like that are up to the officer's discretion.
"I'm upset, I don't have the money to pay for a ticket like this, it can be up to a $500 ticket." Spangler said.
Police would not go into the specifics of this case, but did say Spangler can always take up his disagreement with the ticket in traffic court.
