Footage reveals Ohio state senator driving during Zoom call
An Ohio state senator used a virtual background of his home office in an apparent attempt to conceal the fact that he was driving during a Zoom meeting – on the same day a bill to ban distracted driving was introduced.
Andrew Brenner might have succeeded in fooling the meeting with the state’s controlling board, were it not for the seatbelt strapped across his chest, glimpses of the road behind him and the constant turning of his head as he changed lanes.
The footage of the meeting, which was streamed live to the public via the state’s broadcaster on Monday, came on the same day Ohio legislators introduced a bill to crack down on dangerous driving, including introducing penalties for texting and livestreaming while behind the wheel.
At the start of the video conference of the board, which makes adjustments to the state budget, Brenner appeared in a parked car. A few minutes later, he left the call before reappearing with a different background featuring wooden cabinets, hanging artwork and a houseplant.
The Republican, who represents a district north of the state capital Columbus, continued to participate in the call, listening and responding to questions while keeping his eyes mostly on the road ahead. As he drove, the background faltered, revealing glimpses of the view from the driver-side window.
Brenner denied that he was driving unsafely. He told The Columbus Dispatch he “wasn’t distracted” during the meeting and was “paying attention to the driving and listening to” the discussion.
“I wasn’t distracted. I was paying attention to the driving and listening to it [the meeting],” he said. “And I’ve actually been on other calls, numerous calls, while driving. Phone calls for the most part, but on video calls, I’m not paying attention to the video. To me, it’s like a phone call.”
The incident coincided with the introduction of a bill to Ohio’s General Assembly to penalise unsafe driving. House bill 283 proposes expanding a ban on texting while driving, currently a secondary offence in the state, to explicitly outlawing texting, livestreaming, taking photos and the use of mobile apps while driving. It makes both the holding and use of an electronic device while driving a primary offence.
The state’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, said he planned to include provisions against distracted driving in his upcoming budget proposal. He said in a press statement last year: “Ohio’s current laws don’t go far enough to change the culture around distracted driving, and people are dying because of it.
“Distracted driving is a choice that must be as culturally unacceptable as drunk driving is today, and strengthening our current laws will lead to more responsible driving.”
Brenner’s multitasking joins the growing ranks of professionals who have pushed the boundaries of acceptable Zoom behaviour during the pandemic, ranging from the morally precarious to the downright hilarious.
Last month, Rebecca Saldaña, a
Democratic state senator in Washington, apologised after joining a Zoom hearing while driving, the Seattle Times reported, while in February, a California plastic surgeon came under an ethics investigation after appearing at a virtual traffic court hearing from an operating theatre.
Meanwhile, the Canadian MP William Amos apologised after appearing stark naked during a virtual parliamentary session last month, covering his private parts with a phone as he stood between the flags of Quebec and Canada after his laptop camera accidentally turned on during the call. And a Texas lawyer went viral in February after he was left unable to undo a Zoom filter during a hearing and had to inform the judge that he was not a cat.