A truck driver was ticketed after the California Highway Patrol caught him watching a television show on a tablet when he was pulled over for skipping a scale facility in Walnut Creek, CDLLife reported on Friday, citing a statement from CHP's Golden Gate Division.
According to the CHP statement, dated October 20, a semi truck driver bypassed the scale facility located off Interstate 680 in Walnut Creek, and a commercial vehicle officer attempted a traffic stop. CHP said the driver 'was so distracted that it took the span of two miles of lights and sirens to finally get his attention.'
During the stop, officers found the driver was watching a Netflix show on a tablet mounted on the dash while operating an 80,000-pound vehicle (about 36,000 kg) on the freeway, CHP said. A second trucking outlet, American Truck Drivers, reported the same CHP account of the stop, including the two-mile lights-and-sirens pursuit before the driver responded.
Source: American Truck Drivers — Truck Driver Watching a Show on His Tablet Ignored CHP (Oct 20, 2026)
The driver was cited for bypassing the scale and for a violation of California Vehicle Code 27602(a), which prohibits operating a vehicle with a video or television screen visible to the driver, according to CDLLife's reporting of the CHP statement. The driver's name was not released in the reporting reviewed.
CHP used the incident to warn commercial drivers about distraction. 'This behavior is unacceptable and puts everyone at risk. Distracted driving is preventable, costly, and dangerous. The safest choice is to keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel, and your mind on driving,' the division said. For the Punjabi trucking community that runs I-680 and the East Bay corridors daily, the stop is a plain reminder: a skipped scale is a ticket, and a screen on the dash can turn it into a much more serious stop.