Travellers watch out! New York and other US cities are poised ban texting while walking across the street – as annual US pedestrian deaths soar beyond the 7000 mark, walking texters stumble into roadways like zombies and drivers are dangerously distracted.
As well as those pedestrians killed, many are maimed. Experts suspect smartphones and marijuana use may lie behind the upward lethal trend. Several US states have legalised marijuana. The worst-case scenario combines both; stoned pedestrians lurching into traffic while gazing at their cellphones.
A new bill sponsored by New York Democrats would let police levy an instant fine of USD 25 to USD 50 on anyone caught texting while walking. If the accused can prove it was a genuine emergency, they may get off.
The proposed bill would state simply: “No pedestrian shall cross a roadway at any point while using any portable electronic device.”
A report in USA Today notes that the spike in pedestrian deaths has defied improvements in vehicle safety, automatic emergency braking systems, rear-view cameras and collision-alert technology.
Sign of the times
“It’s downright disturbing,” Richard Retting, director of safety for Sam Schwartz Consulting, who authored the report for the Governors’ Highway Safety Association (an multi-state US action committee) told the publication.
“People outside cars are dying at levels we haven’t seen in 25 years.”
Written by Peter Needham
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