California court OKs using cellphone map while driving

Talking on a cellphone while driving, get a ticket. Text while driving, get a ticket. Glance at that all-powerful map on your iPhone while driving? No problem.

That was the conclusion of a state appeals court in Fresno, which for the first time in a California case found that drivers can use maps on their smartphones without risking a hands-free cellphone ticket. The court's ruling is almost certain to be welcomed by drivers who've come to depend on maps programs and GPS functions to get where they're going, but it is unlikely to end the confusion over what's legal -- and what's not -- under California's hands-free law.