If you drive in this province, there’s a good chance your road habits have been influenced by the strict legislation surrounding distracted driving, and the costly penalties that can come from it.

But a recent ruling by a B.C. Supreme Court judge overturning a conviction for one local driver could be a game changer, after arguing having a phone in plain sight doesn’t count as distracted driving.

Legal experts say the decision, which was handed down March 1, could open up a flood of appeals that may take advantage of differing views of the law.

There’s always lack of clarity in the law, and there will always be circumstances that are somewhat in between. And the courts have to grapple with it, the driver’s lawyer Paul Doroshenko of Acumen Law explained.

The driver, identified as Philip Partridge in court documents, was charged with using an electronic device in Vancouver in the summer of 2018 after an officer spotted a cellphone wedged in the cushion of his passenger seat  technically within sight, and technically unsecured.

Partridge was given a ticket, and was initially convicted in traffic court.

Crown and defence ultimately agreed, however, that the mere presence of a cell phone within sight of a driver is not enough to secure a conviction.

The judges decision noted, The appellant emphasizes that since the officer never saw [Partridge] touch the device in any way, there was no further accompanying act, and so [Partridge] cannot be found to have been using his cell phone.

The ruling could set a precedent as the province prepares to increase its already stiff fines for the infraction by 20 percent by November.