Well I've been pulled over before with the laptop there and it was never once mentioned. I was pulled over for driving a modified 4 cylinder, he saw the laptop when he came up to my window and asked what it was for. I told him It was a scan tool (which in essence it is, I was running the AEM software on it) and he said it was illegal. the law he cited on the ticket is as follows:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp...+cod+46.2-1077
§ 46.2-1077. Motor vehicles not to be equipped with television within view of driver; viewing motion pictures or similar displays while driving.
A. No motor vehicle registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia shall be equipped with, nor shall there be used therein, a television receiver forward of the driver's seat or the screen of which would otherwise be visible to the driver while driving the vehicle. The operator of a motor vehicle which is not required to be registered in Virginia shall not operate a television receiver which violates the provisions of this section while driving in the Commonwealth.
The prohibitions contained in this subsection shall not, however, include:
1. Electronic displays used in conjunction with vehicle navigation systems;
2. Closed circuit video monitors designed to operate only in conjunction with dedicated video cameras and used in rear-view systems on trucks, motor homes, and other motor vehicles; and
3. Television receivers or monitors used in government-owned vehicles by law-enforcement officers and employees of the Virginia Department of Transportation in the course of their official duties.
B. Except for displays explicitly authorized in subsection A, no driver of any motor vehicle shall view any motion picture or similar video display while driving.
(Code 1950, § 46-219.1; 1950, p. 882; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-202; 1989, c. 727; 1994, c. 117; 2005, cc. 210, 913.)
by my logic.. My laptop was functioning as a scan tool which is just as much a function of the car as a navigation system.. it was sitting in the passenger seat, NOT in front of the driver's seat, lastly, it is NOT A television, and I was not watching a movie.
any of you law guys know if that defense would fly in court?