'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
Carla ShynkarukMulti-Skilled Journalist CTV News Saskatoon
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Updated May 15, 2024 2:18 p.m. EDT
Published May 14, 2024 9:55 p.m. EDT
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
“I’m barely even moving. I pull up my app and look at the rear-view mirror and there’s a motorcycle cop behind me,” Mason Prima told CTV News about the moment he was pulled over going through the McDonald’s drive-thru in Saskatoon.
He didn’t think anything of using the app, and needed it to get the free lunch that he had earned through reward points.
Then the officer came to his window.
“I just go like this and show him I’m on my McDonalds app loading up the code to get a free meal,” Prima said.
He thought that would be the end of it.
"I did think he was just going to let me go because I’m just trying to get a free meal, but no, turns out to be a very expensive lunch,” he said.
Prima says the whole process was a catch twenty-two. He needed the app to complete his order, and it’s the first thing McDonald’s staff ask you when you pull up.
“I was kind of shocked to be honest. I’ve never had that before — I open up my app every time I go over to drive-thru and I’ve never had that issue,” he said.
The reason it’s shocking, according to a local criminal defense lawyer, is that there is a lot of grey area when it comes to technology and the law.
“I feel for the individual that was charged here. If he was literally in the … drive-thru area and not on a public roadway,” criminal lawyer Brian Pfefferle told CTV News.
Pfefferle doesn’t have all the particulars in the case, but says having an officer catching cell phone users in a drive-thru doesn’t seem to be a good use of resources for police.
In this case, it was issued by an RCMP officer. CTV News has contacted the RCMP for comment and is waiting for a response.
“I would venture to guess that a great majority of people would utilize their cell phones in lineups such as that and it shouldn’t be considered illegal, but it’s obviously debatable,” he added.
Cell phone use while driving is clearly dangerous, says Pfefferle, but he questions the circumstances in Prima’s case.
“I didn’t have my foot on the gas or brake. It was just rolling. Barely moving,” Prima says.
Prima has only been driving for two and a half years. He says he’s only had one speeding ticket in that time and is very careful to keep his cell phone out of reach, so he isn’t tempted to use it while driving.
The fine he faces is $580, which for this 18-year-old is a hefty amount, but he’s most concerned about the demerits off his licence.
Prima feels strongly that he should not have to pay this ticket and is prepared to fight it in court.
That date is set for July 31.
We’re curious. Have you ever received a cell phone ticket for pulling out your phone in a fast-food line, or know anyone who has? Let us know at SaskatoonNews@bellmedia.ca.
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Mason Prima told CTV News about the moment he was pulled over going through the McDonald’s drive-thru in Saskatoon. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)
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