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

Maybe I am an asshole but

[Baron_Yam]

If you can't pull your eyes away from your phone long enough to safely cross a street... whoever hits you is helping Darwin and they're the one and only person getting my sympathy.

Legislation SHOULD be passed... freeing the motorist from liability.

Re:Maybe I am an asshole but

[dgatwood]

The problem with laws like this is that they're useless and backwards. Pedestrians looking at their phones while crossing the street aren't a problem. They cross the street, and they're done. The problem is people unintentionally crossing a street while looking at their phones. It's the sidewalk that's dangerous, because people who are looking down at their phones don't necessarily realize when the sidewalk ends and the road begins.

Re:Maybe I am an asshole but

[TheRaven64]

The goal is to protect the motorist. Even if the pedestrian completely deserved to be removed from the gene pool, accidentally killing someone who walks into the street is quite traumatic and the idiots looking at their phones shouldn't have the right to inflict that on a random stranger.

Re:Maybe I am an asshole but

[LynnwoodRooster]

We also need to aggressively prosecute bikers and peds who violate traffic laws. Crossing against lights, holding up traffic, changing lanes without signalling, etc... Right?

Re:Maybe I am an asshole but

[Gussington]

(people) looking at their phones while crossing the street aren't a problem. .

the problem is people crossing a street while looking at their phones

. Wait. What?

It's the sidewalk that's dangerous, because people who are looking down at their phones don't necessarily realize when the sidewalk ends and the road begins.

Our council has installed flashing red lights embedded into the road right on the kerbside specifically to target screen zombies. It still doesn't help.
The problem is absolutely people concentrating on their devices instead of the potential danger around them. I ride a motorbike and I almost hit these people every_single_day. I've actually broken my horn button from using it so much to get these fuckwits to pay attention.

Re:Maybe I am an asshole but

[Gussington]

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. .

I'll take that bet. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/... Sure this is from my neck of the woods, but I'm sure road user behaviour in your location isn't that much different.

Football CTE effect

[Solandri]

Meanwhile, the city of London has tried putting pads on their lamp posts "to soften the blow for distracted walkers."

In response to American football players being injured, they developed better helmet technology to soften the blow. This resulted in football players hitting each other harder, which we now suspect has led to endemic CTE among football players.

The more effective solution would be to electrify the lamp posts so they give you a safe but unpleasant shock if you walk into them (since apparently the blow isn't enough to discourage people from not watching where they are going). OTOH, if you wish to accept that people are going to text while on the sidewalk but wish to avoid collisions, the better solution is a moving walkway.

Better idea.

[Gravis Zero]

Instead of a monetary penalty, just close their most active social media account each time they get caught. ;)

Bah

[DontBeAMoran]

We should be celebrating the death of the low-I.Q. members of our societies, not protect them!

Re:I see these dumb motherfuckers all over Boston

[DontBeAMoran]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

So, I guess I get to feel old today

[Cardcaptor_RLH85]

When I was a kid, before pre-teens had cell phones, I read books while walking home from school. I had a number of close calls with vehicles when crossing streets while reading Asimov or Clarke. I almost want to take a trip to Honolulu with a few paperbacks just to publicly mock the fact that this legislation doesn't actually fix the problem it tries to fix.

Sounds like a video game

[fahrbot-bot]

Smartphone Zombies

Drivers get points added for hitting pedestrians on phones, points subtracted for hitting those without.

Re:More not fewer ways for these idots to get hurt

[drinkypoo]

No it's expensive if there is socialized medicine. Otherwise it's just a little bit of body work and a good wash for the car and the street and things are good as new. The world in general is better off minus one moron.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the broken window fallacy as a human being. Kind of.