Man busted for distracted driving claims he had a McDonald's hash brown in his hand, not a phone

A McDonald's hash brown might make for a tasty breakfast, but you're not going to be able to read your Twitter timeline on one. What brings this up is a report in The Hour (via BGR) about a man from Westport, Connecticut named Jason Stiber. On April 11th, Stiber was pulled over and given a $300 ticket for "distracted driving" by Westport Police Cpl. Wong Won. The officer said that he saw Stiber place a cellphone near his mouth.

Stiber tried to tell the cop that what he thought was a smartphone was really a hash brown from McDonald's. The driver said that he had no reason to put a phone to his mouth or ear because he uses Bluetooth while driving. In addition, he allowed the officer to look at his phone, which showed that he had not made a call or received one during the time he was allegedly driving while distracted.

When Stiber went before a magistrate judge in August, he was found guilty despite presenting the same evidence he showed the cop. So Stiber requested a retrial, now scheduled for December 7th at state Superior Court in Norwalk. He has hired an attorney at a price of $1,000, which is how much his car insurance premium has risen because of the ticket.

There is a lesson to be learned here. If you drive through McDonald's for a hash brown, make sure to order a second one to offer the cop just in case you get pulled over.