Charges dismissed for woman without right hand cited for holding phone while driving

Key Points:

• A traffic citation against a woman accused of holding a phone in a hand she does not have was dismissed at the request of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy who issued the ticket.
• The citation arose from a February 11 traffic stop in Lake Worth Beach, where the deputy alleged the woman violated Florida’s wireless communications law by using a handheld device while driving.
• The case gained viral attention after the woman posted a TikTok video disputing the deputy’s claim that she held a phone in her right hand, which she does not have, and she planned to contest the ticket in court.
• Florida’s wireless communications law prohibits manually typing on devices while driving but allows holding a phone outside of school zones, construction zones, or work zones, which were not indicated in this citation.
• Attorneys noted that texting-while-driving citations are difficult to prove without clear evidence, and many drivers pay fines without contesting them; in this case, the woman’s challenge likely contributed to the dismissal.