When a Canadian guy drove a drive-thru to buy McDonald's, he opened the mobile app and wanted to exchange points for free meals, but was arrested by the police.
萨斯卡通（Saskatoon）18岁小哥梅森·普里马（Mason Prima），告诉 CTV 新闻，他在麦当劳餐厅drive-through时被警察拦下开罚单了。
"I barely moved, I opened my phone app, looked in the rearview mirror and saw a motorcycle cop behind me."
But Prima didn't have any idea about using the McDonald's app, because he just wanted the free lunch he earned through the app's reward points.
Then the police came to his window.
"I just showed the police that I was using a QR code on the McDonald's app to get a free meal," Prima said.
He thought that was the end of the matter.
"I did think he was going to let me go because I just wanted to get a free McDonald's pack, but it wasn't, and it turned out to be a very expensive lunch," he said.
Prima said he ended up receiving a ticket for distracted driving and faced a $580 fine.
"To be honest, I was a little shocked. I've never had this situation before, every time I drive-through to buy fast food, I open my app and I've never had this problem," he said.
A local criminal defense lawyer said it was alarming because there were a lot of gray areas in terms of technology and law.
"I feel sympathy for the people accused here. If only he was indeed in the drive-through zone and not on the road," criminal attorney Brian Pfefferle told CTV News.
Pfeffler doesn't have all the details of the case, but he said having a police officer catch a driver using a cell phone in a drive-through area doesn't appear to be an efficient use of resources.
He added: "I'm bold enough to guess that the vast majority of people will use their phones in situations such as these, which shouldn't be considered illegal, but that's obviously debatable." ”
The lawyer said that it was obviously dangerous to use a mobile phone while driving, but he questioned the situation in Prima's case.
For the 18-year-old Prima, $580 is a hefty fine, but his biggest concern is the loss of points on his driver's license.
He has only been driving for two and a half years, and so far he has only received one speeding ticket, and he is very careful to keep his phone out of reach, so he doesn't use it while driving.
Prima strongly believes that he should not pay the ticket and is ready to fight in court.