Hawaii Just Made Texting While Crossing The Street Illegal And Every Single City Should Do The Same

Source - Honolulu implemented a new law Wednesday, under which anyone caught crossing the street while texting can receive a fine between $15 and $99.Under the legislation, people caught manipulating a mobile electronic device while crossing a road or highway can be fined up to $35 for their first offense, as much as $75 for the second, and up to $99 for a third infraction.

Pedestrians are still allowed to talk on the phone while crossing the street, Honolulu Police Department Sgt. James Shyer said to BuzzFeed News.

After receiving a citation, the individual will have to appear in court. “When you get to court, the judge will make the determination whether you are guilty or innocent, and what the fine will be,” Shyer said.

The police sergeant added that the department has seen an increase in pedestrian deaths, although he couldn’t say for sure what has caused the uptick since it’s not always clear what caused an accident.

Great law. Can’t have people getting smoked by cars in the crosswalk. That would cause a traffic jam. No one has time to sit around while the DPW scrapes a human pancake off the street because his “be there in a sec” text couldn’t wait. I’m really surprised Hawaii even has a texting and walking problem. If it were Detroit I’d understand. I’d be head down walking on green lights if I had to live in that dump. No shade to the people of Detroit but let’s be honest, it’s not particularly easy on the eyes. Hawaii on the other hand is gorgeous. It has beaches, jungles, mountain views, you name it.

I’d like to see them take it a step further and ban texting and walking all together. All states should. It’s terrible. If you’ve ever been stuck behind someone on their phone you know what I’m talking about. The whole sidewalk becomes a bottleneck. The worst is when they completely stop to check the phone. Like they don’t have the coordination to use both their feet and their eyes at the same time. Those are the people who should cross the street on the phone. Let natural selection thin the herd a little bit.

Although I will say, the good thing about New York is that text-walkers are pretty much free game for verbal abuse, so they usually don’t last very long. I stopped at the one train platform a few days ago to check my phone and was shouldered by a woman in her sixties. Wasn’t even mad about it. Thought about saying “my bad” but I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.