Coun. Kevin Klein says he doesn’t believe he broke the law when he took a selfie while driving.
The Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood councillor tweeted a photo of himself Tuesday along with the caption:
“It was a long day I (sic), but I’m as grateful today to serve Charleswood - Tuxedo - Westwood and all of #Winnipeg as I was on Election Day. Proudly working #ForABetterWinnipeg #wpgpoli”
The reflection in the councillor’s sunglasses appeared to show his hand close to or touching a smartphone.
Soon comments began to appear on the post, accusing the councillor of distracted driving.
When reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Klein said he took the accusations very seriously, but denied he did anything wrong.
Klein said he asked Siri to take the photo on his iPhone, which brings up the camera app on the phone. He said he then pressed a button to snap the photo.
He said the phone was mounted to the inside of the vehicle.
Klein said he has contacted the Winnipeg Police Service, and asked it to look into the matter for clarification on whether he did anything wrong.
Insp. Gord Spado from Winnipeg’s traffic division said they’ve confirmed Klein does have a secure mount and that everything the councillor said is plausible. He said they have no evidence that shows he did anything other than touch the phone once to activate the camera shutter and that there’s no evidence of an offence under the Highway Traffic Act.
“Traffic division did review all of the circumstances and in reviewing that picture Councillor Klein is definitely touching that phone with his index finger. If any of you have tried to hold your phone in that manner without it being mounted, you’ll see that it’s very, very difficult to do,” said Spado.
The Highway Traffic Act and the regulations allows for the touching of a mobile device if it’s used in a hands-free manner, Spado said.
