Honolulu Bans Texting While Crossing the Street

Megalith

Megalith

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Walking and texting can be dangerous — and cities in the United States and Europe have begun to do something about it. Honolulu has passed a law, which will take effect Wednesday, that allows the police to fine pedestrians up to $35 for viewing their electronic devices while crossing streets in the city and surrounding county. Honolulu is thought to be the first major city to enact such a ban.

In the United States, pedestrian deaths in 2016 spiked 9 percent from the year before, rising to 5,987, the highest toll on American roads since 1990, according to federal data. One reason may be the sharp rise in smartphone use, “a frequent source of mental and visual distraction” for both drivers and walkers, a report by the Governors Highway Safety Association found.
 
Too bad this won't do a darn thing to lessen those idiots texting into a water fountain. :ROFLMAO:
 
In Salt Lake City, you'll get fined for looking at your cell phone while just *walking*
 
I think a big part of the problem is that there are people in this world that got the tech without being taught how to be safe with it while growing up.

In my area, when growing up, we were told to look one way, then another, then back, then cross the street. Plenty of people haven't received similar "training" for texting while walking, and I'm sure this is a contributing factor.

I suspect a safety campaign of the same ilk would help plenty. Just put out a bunch of PSAs educating the public on HOW to be more aware of their surroundings, not just say TO be more aware of their surroundings. It wouldn't even cost that much to put videos like this out.
 
BloodyIron said:
I think a big part of the problem is that there are people in this world that got the tech without being taught how to be safe with it while growing up.

In my area, when growing up, we were told to look one way, then another, then back, then cross the street. Plenty of people haven't received similar "training" for texting while walking, and I'm sure this is a contributing factor.

I suspect a safety campaign of the same ilk would help plenty. Just put out a bunch of PSAs educating the public on HOW to be more aware of their surroundings, not just say TO be more aware of their surroundings. It wouldn't even cost that much to put videos like this out.
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How with these people ever see them though unless they pop up on their phones while they are getting run over for crossing the street while looking at their phone? And that wouldn't even make a difference because they would just close the PSA before it even got a couple seconds in.
 
if you like texting while driving or walking or bike riding or horse riding or driving a City bus (it's true, I'm the guy who caught him) come here to ever sunny New Mexico where the law is really like it was in the days of the Old West (not kidding here) ...
 
BloodyIron said:
I think a big part of the problem is that there are people in this world that got the tech without being taught how to be safe with it while growing up.

In my area, when growing up, we were told to look one way, then another, then back, then cross the street. Plenty of people haven't received similar "training" for texting while walking, and I'm sure this is a contributing factor.

I suspect a safety campaign of the same ilk would help plenty. Just put out a bunch of PSAs educating the public on HOW to be more aware of their surroundings, not just say TO be more aware of their surroundings. It wouldn't even cost that much to put videos like this out.
Click to expand...

It’s mostly Asian tourists that are the problem. I don’t think the ban will do anything but at least it’ll bring in more revenue for the county.
 
So we're making more laws to protect stupid people? I'm really missing natural selection. So who is at falt when the person texting and driving hits the person walking and texting ? Or do we blame the phone company. Stupid is becoming the normal now days.
 
Makeroflostsouls said:
So we're making more laws to protect stupid people? I'm really missing natural selection. So who is at falt when the person texting and driving hits the person walking and texting ? Or do we blame the phone company. Stupid is becoming the normal now days.
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It is not for safety. It is just a money grab for stupid people like a lot of these type of dumb laws are made for. Laws like this should be illegal.
 
vegeta535 said:
It is not for safety. It is just a money grab for stupid people like a lot of these type of dumb laws are made for. Laws like this should be illegal.
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No - They shouldn't. If you've ever spent any amount of time in downtown Honolulu/Waikiki you'd know how bad the Asian tourists are. Fuck em'. They've got money to blow anyways.
 
Great, Now we get to deal with defining "viewing". Their definition is: “Viewing” means looking in the direction of the screen of a mobile electronic device. So if I am walking across the street, get a text message, look down to see who it is, and then carry on walking, I would get a fine? I am good with fining the people who never look up from the screen as they go across the street. I don't like that it is open enough that a glance down could be interpreted as a "viewing".
Based on the bill I think this could also include smart watches, but it seems this is open to interpretation/discretion. Their definition of mobile electronic device in the ordinance is: “Mobile electronic device” means any handheld or other portable electronic equipment capable of providing wireless and/or data communication between two or more persons or of providing amusement, including but not limited to a cellular phone, text messaging device, paging device, personal digital assistant, laptop computer, video game, or digital photographic device, but does not include any audio equipment. Some grey area there.
 
gsilver said:
In Salt Lake City, you'll get fined for looking at your cell phone while just *walking*
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This is the way it should be. Hell we have had two kids on my campus die because they were walking and texting. Walked right into traffic... I personally watched a girl walk into a parked ups box truck texting. Truck had it's hazard lights on and everything. She was angry at the driver for parking there and threatened to sue because she broke her laptop when she fell down...

*insert wicked witch "what a world! what a world!"* lol
 
Cyraxx said:
Why do we keep trying to stop natural selection?
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I don't particularly care about them dying or not. I care about me ramming them with my car because they decide to step out into the street out from between two cars, or cross the street when they've got the red hand saying don't cross and I've got a green light.
 
In portland Oregon, people walking blindly into traffic with their eyes glued to a phone is a real problem. People get hit, run over and every year someone is killed because they can't seem to put the damn thing down.

It's not like situation awareness ever saved lives
 
Mchart said:
I don't particularly care about them dying or not. I care about me ramming them with my car because they decide to step out into the street out from between two cars, or cross the street when they've got the red hand saying don't cross and I've got a green light.
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Exactly, if it wasn't for the fact that these idiots end up walking in front of your car then it wouldn't be an issue. Now if they were walking off cliffs into some void space where their stupidity didn't cause problems for someone else, sure.
 
I don't think 36 bucks will do it. Better start a 100 for the first go and double it for each count after that. The road kill is also liable for the damage to the car that puts them down.
 
vegeta535 said:
It is not for safety. It is just a money grab for stupid people like a lot of these type of dumb laws are made for. Laws like this should be illegal.
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You might change your tune if you hit one of these dumbasses with your car.
 
How are you supposed to know that you happen to be crossing a street while you're busy texting? ;)
 
RayderR6 said:
You might change your tune if you hit one of these dumbasses with your car.
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I know it be damn legal battle but fuck them. Around here you have to look out anyway cause for some damn reason people like walk in the fucking street all the time.
 
Uh no, it's not, there are plenty of people who aren't Asian nor tourists that do this. Mind backing up your blatant stereotype with actual evidence? Or are you just talking about your own personal observation? Because if that's the case, that's profiling based on an extremely small sample size.

Mchart said:
It’s mostly Asian tourists that are the problem. I don’t think the ban will do anything but at least it’ll bring in more revenue for the county.
Click to expand...
 
BloodyIron said:
Uh no, it's not, there are plenty of people who aren't Asian nor tourists that do this. Mind backing up your blatant stereotype with actual evidence? Or are you just talking about your own personal observation? Because if that's the case, that's profiling based on an extremely small sample size.
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Well to be fair the demographics of Honolulu are >50% Asian population, so it kind of does include a large sampling.

Now as to Asian tourist, I couldn't say I don't know the demographics of tourists that come into Honolulu (nor do I particularly care to look up that data assuming it even exists). That said, tourists from foreign countries in general seem to be a bit "dumber" than usual when it comes to common sense, however that is probably just an observational bias in that you really only pay attention to those who are the idiots and not everyone else.
 
BloodyIron said:
Uh no, it's not, there are plenty of people who aren't Asian nor tourists that do this. Mind backing up your blatant stereotype with actual evidence? Or are you just talking about your own personal observation? Because if that's the case, that's profiling based on an extremely small sample size.
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I'm going to go with you've never visited Honolulu/Waikiki.
 
To be fair, I wasn't meaning just Honolulu, I really was meaning anywhere. I haven't been there, so I have no realistic perspective on what it's like over there.

sfsuphysics said:
Well to be fair the demographics of Honolulu are >50% Asian population, so it kind of does include a large sampling.

Now as to Asian tourist, I couldn't say I don't know the demographics of tourists that come into Honolulu (nor do I particularly care to look up that data assuming it even exists). That said, tourists from foreign countries in general seem to be a bit "dumber" than usual when it comes to common sense, however that is probably just an observational bias in that you really only pay attention to those who are the idiots and not everyone else.
Click to expand...
 
ThatITGuy said:
Great, Now we get to deal with defining "viewing". Their definition is: “Viewing” means looking in the direction of the screen of a mobile electronic device. So if I am walking across the street, get a text message, look down to see who it is, and then carry on walking, I would get a fine? I am good with fining the people who never look up from the screen as they go across the street. I don't like that it is open enough that a glance down could be interpreted as a "viewing".
Based on the bill I think this could also include smart watches, but it seems this is open to interpretation/discretion. Their definition of mobile electronic device in the ordinance is: “Mobile electronic device” means any handheld or other portable electronic equipment capable of providing wireless and/or data communication between two or more persons or of providing amusement, including but not limited to a cellular phone, text messaging device, paging device, personal digital assistant, laptop computer, video game, or digital photographic device, but does not include any audio equipment. Some grey area there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I mean, can you believe that they expect you to wait the three remaining seconds to cross the road before looking at that message? Oh the HORROR!
 
BloodyIron said:
Correct, I haven't. Would you like a gold star sticker, or a sticker with Superman on it?
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Because you're talking out of your ass. If you've ever been here you'd know there are mass amounts of tourists from various countries within the Asian continent and they are almost always the ones running out in the middle of the street with their faces down into their phones because they frankly don't even know better.

Nor am I talking about other cities. I'm talking about Honolulu County where this law was passed.
 
Yesterday I saw a mother walking her baby in a stroller with her nose in her phone through a PARKING LOT.
 
Was involved in a fire at a hotel, wife and I holding our kids walking down the stair way. The guy in front of us was moving super slow because he was on his phone.

I’m not one for violence but in a fire situation and my family potentially in danger, I smacked the phone out of his hand. Watched him running after it and never made a comment. That was in Honolulu.
 
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