When learning hilchos tefillin a while back I remember discussing the issue of "hesech hadaas" while wearing tefillin - a distraction, something that takes away the person's focus and attention from the tefillin he is wearing.

From my recollection it seemed to me that driving while wearing tefillin. or driving under the influence of Tefillin (DUT) should be a halachic problem of hesech hadaas.

That being said, it is possible that a very short drive to shul while wearing tefillin might be ok, even if not recommended.

It does raise a question in my mind as to how they used to live. We know people used to generally wear tefillin all day long. Why was their work or non-prayer activities not considered a problem of hesech hadaas back then? The basic answer I have received is that now things are different because we limit our tefillin-time so much to only prayer-time, so hesech hadaas because a problem, whereas back then it was not a problem as it was part of the tefillin-system.

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know.

Either way, traffic court in Israel just supported the halachic position on this matter, from my perspective, sort of, I think.

A fellow who received a 1000nis ticker for DUT - driving under the influence of Tefillin - appealed his fine to the courts. The ticket was for endangering himself and other drivers.

The court upheld the fine.

Actually, this situation was a bit worse than simply hesech hadaas. According to the description of what happened, this driver was putting on his tefillin while driving, he was holding a siddur, and he had his tallis draped over his head, obstructing his field of vision.

my comments on what he did:
1. how could he possibly do all this at the same time?
2. how many hands did he have - putting on his tefillin, driving, holding his siddur?
3. all while not having a good view of the road?
4. is holding a siddur any different than holding a cellphone? cellphones require hands-free, does that apply to everything? Is it illegal to hold anything while driving?
5. From a spiritual perspective perhaps the siddur might be better than the phone, but not from a safety perspective, and possibly not from a legal perspective..

Back to the case... the judge ruled it was reckless and endangering. The judge added that it is doubtful if the drivers prayers would have even helped in this situation. They definitely didn't help save him from his fine.
source: Kikar

In addition to the fine, his license was suspended for four months, with an additional three months pending.

It does seem that the main part of the decision was based on the drivers holding of the siddur and not that he was wearing tefillin. Also, the decision was automatic because the driver did not appear in court to argue on his own behalf and provide any explanation. It is possible he could have argued and explained his way out of the ticket.

So, does it support the original premise made by me - not really, but sort of, in theory.

Anyways, don't pray and drive. At least not while holding your siddur.

Foolishly, in my opinion, Chaim Walder, Haredi author and askan, is upset about this and wants to a protest to put the judge in his place. According to Kikar, Walder is calling for a day of protest during which all Haredim will drive wearing tallis and tefillin, to show the judges that it is not they who decide what is allowed and what is not, but the rabbonim do.

I say "foolishly" because at least according to the original article and what has been reported in the news, the judge was not making a decision based on religious, or anti-religious, sentiments. The decision was automatic because the driver failed to appear before the court to argue on his own behalf. As well, the judge said specifically that it is not illegal to drive while wearing tefillin, but this specific driver was driving dangerously - holding his siddur, while putting on tefillin, with his vision blocked.

Walder is calling for a protest in a situation where there is nothing to protest. The only he should perhaps protest is the stupidity of this specific driver.

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UPDATE: the fined driver has spoken to Kikar about the situation. He is against a protest, as suggested by Chaim Walder, at this time. He says he did not appear in court because of confusion regarding the dates, as he does not use the Gregorian calendar and only the Jewish calendar. His preoccupation with the Purim holiday  caused him to not realize the date on the Gregorian calendar. He says he will be filing an appeal, and he hopes his explanation will satisfy the judge. All he said about the story itself is that he will give his explanation to the judge, but the policeman exaggerated the report.