Honolulu Targets 'Smartphone Zombies' With Crosswalk Ban (reuters.com)

Templer421 shares news from Reuters: A ban on pedestrians looking at mobile phones or texting while crossing the street will take effect in Hawaii's largest city in late October, as Honolulu becomes the first major U.S. city to pass legislation aimed at reducing injuries and deaths from "distracted walking." The ban comes as cities around the world grapple with how to protect phone-obsessed "smartphone zombies" from injuring themselves by stepping into traffic or running into stationary objects. Starting Oct. 25, Honolulu pedestrians can be fined between $15 and $99, depending on the number of times police catch them looking at a phone or tablet device as they cross the street, Mayor Kirk Caldwell told reporters gathered near one of the city's busiest downtown intersections on Thursday... People making calls for emergency services are exempt from the ban... Opponents of the Honolulu law argued it infringes on personal freedom and amounts to government overreach.
Meanwhile, the city of London has tried putting pads on their lamp posts "to soften the blow for distracted walkers."

Comments

Re:Maybe I am an asshole but

[LynnwoodRooster]

How many of those accidents were caused by bikers not following the rules of the road? I ride a motorcycle daily (it's my only transport). Including riding up from Ventura to San Francisco 2-3 times a month; I average 3500 miles a month on my motorcycle - 65% of that in urban situations, in LA, SF, and Ventura. I see dozens of near-collisions monthly, and 90% of them are the biker not following the rules of the road. And they regularly blast through crosswalks (illegally - when peds are still in the crosswalk) all the time.

Maybe because I'm on something nearly as small as a bicycle, but am licensed with plates to be on the roads, I pay more attention. But I would be willing to gamble that 90% or more of cyclists who are killed by cars are actually in the wrong, per traffic laws. You want to ride on the road? Obey the rules of the road.