Delivery and rideshare workers and advocates are urging the B.C. government to review its distracted driving laws following a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that determined accepting a delivery order on a phone while driving is illegal.
The case involved Vancouver-based Uber Eats driver Vasu Subhashbhai Virda, who was ticketed on July 31, 2024, for tapping his phone to accept a delivery order while driving.
Virda testified that he had tapped the screen once to accept a delivery offer through the Uber Eats app, which he said he had to respond to within five seconds.
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Calls for legislative updates
Vancouver-based criminal lawyer Kyla Lee says the legislation was not written with the gig economy in mind.
“It has been around for 15 years now with absolutely no changes to bring it up to speed with the current ways that we use technology,” she said. “[It] doesn’t make a lot of sense because it’s no more dangerous to touch your phone to answer a call than it is to touch your phone and [accept an order].”
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Lee says ride-hailing companies should advocate for drivers and push for legislative changes.
“When it’s just the little guy, people screaming into the void, no change is going to happen because the government doesn’t feel motivated.”
