[bbfan1991]

A town in New Jersey has started to fine people for walking and texting at the same time.

Officers in Fort Lee have handed out fliers telling people that 'text-walking' is an illegal activity.

Youtube video

New Jersey police have apparently issued 117 tickets for reckless walking over the last month.

Thomas Ripoli, chief of the Fort Lee Police Department, told ABC News: "It's a big distraction. Pedestrians aren't watching where they're walking, and they're not aware."

Some residents are not happy about the development, with a woman named Sue Chloe saying: "When I walk I still look around. I'm not like constantly looking down the whole time."

A study conducted at Stony Brook University in New York found that texters are 60 percent more likely to veer off line than non-texters.

[GypsyGoth]

That Sue Chloe sounds like a rabble-rouser.

[Kizzy]

Haha! I have heard it all now lol

[daniel-lewis-1985]

Good! Those people are annoying.

They need to ban people with giant umbrellas to! Cant tell you how many times ive been hit in the face by some inconsiderate **** walking down the street with what looks like a ****ing parachute!

[Z]

A bit ridiculous but I guess they must have had a lot of cases of negligent injuries or nuisances or something if they've been pushed that far. Some people are really unaware when they're texting.

[Josy]

I think this is actually a good idea, the amount of people on the main streets that bump into me because the are too engrossed in their phones is getting quite ridiculous.

[Omah]

Bang those txtrs up, bang 'em all up .....

[Jords]

Anything to rob people of money

I cant even do it LOL

[Patrick]

Meh, everyone does it - like you can't walk about here without seeing loads of people with their heads buried in their phones.

No big deal.

[Jordan.]

Yeah I really hate that reckless walking

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Josy

I think this is actually a good idea, the amount of people on the main streets that bump into me because the are too engrossed in their phones is getting quite ridiculous.

Yeah, but you have people bump into you when someone's walking towards you and you both step into each other's paths by mistake. I hardly think it should be made a criminal offence. Walking into someone is now a crime and punishable by a fine? Sounds quite petty to me. Talk about controlling...

[Josy]

Originally Posted by Jack_

Yeah, but you have people bump into you when someone's walking towards you and you both step into each other's paths by mistake. I hardly think it should be made a criminal offence. Walking into someone is now a crime and punishable by a fine? Sounds quite petty to me. Talk about controlling...

Yes people do bump into one another by accident, that happens but my post was about people that were texting and so it could be prevented if they made an effort to lift their heads from their phones for a few seconds to walk down the street, then things like this wouldnt have to be brought into place, I don't know about anyone else here but I was always taught to look were I was going when I was walking down the street.

What about the laws regarding texting or speaking on a mobile while driving then do you think thats petty too or do you think that deserves to be punished?

And before it gets said yeah I know thats a different scenario but someone could still get hurt if one of these people bump into an elderly man or woman and knock them to the ground.

[MTVN]

Ah I don't think you can compare them Josy, being on the phone while driving hugely increases the chance of killing someone, walking while texting just slightly increases the risk of giving someone a bit of a bump. You wouldn't say that because drinking and driving us illegal then so should drinking while walking, even though that'll increase the chance of you walking into someone

[Josy]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Ah I don't think you can compare them Josy, being on the phone while driving hugely increases the chance of killing someone, walking while texting just slightly increases the risk of giving someone a bit of a bump. You wouldn't say that because drinking and driving us illegal then so should drinking while walking, even though that'll increase the chance of you walking into someone

Hmm yeah I see your point but they could still walk out into the road and cause a fatal accident, and they could still cause someone to seriously hurt themselves if they walk into an eldery person or someone with a buggy.

And it's already illegal to drink alchohol in the street so that makes it illegal to walk down the street drinking

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Josy

Yes people do bump into one another by accident, that happens but my post was about people that were texting and so it could be prevented if they made an effort to lift their heads from their phones for a few seconds to walk down the street, then things like this wouldnt have to be brought into place, I don't know about anyone else here but I was always taught to look were I was going when I was walking down the street.

What about the laws regarding texting or speaking on a mobile while driving then do you think thats petty too or do you think that deserves to be punished?

And before it gets said yeah I know thats a different scenario but someone could still get hurt if one of these people bump into an elderly man or woman and knock them to the ground.

Fair points but as MTVN said, you can't really compare the two. If you text and drive you run the risk of killing someone, that's extremely unlikely with walking and texting. And it just seems on the whole pretty stupid, I mean how can you differentiate from case to case, i.e. how long would it be acceptable to look at your phone? If you were caught texting for say 5 seconds, could the police then fine you on the spot, I mean how do you implement that sort of law? Do you ban texting on the streets completely? Because that'd be pretty over the top.

I just don't think it's worth it. It's just ridiculously controlling.

[joeysteele]

I think it's a bit extreme to fine people for texting etc; while walking but having said that I have had to pull back a few of my friends who are texting on their phones and then just step out into the road at times.

By all means do so when on a train or bus but if walking anywhere just stop for a minute or so to text.

[Livia]

It's apparently been brought in because people are texting, totally unaware of the rest of the world, bumbling off into the road and getting wiped out. It's unfortunate that you have to try to legislate for the stupid.

[Glenn.]

How ridiculus.

[Vicky.]

I think this is a good idea actually...it sounds ridiculous at first but the amount of times I have been elbowed or walked into by a texter is unbelievable. Also a few months back a teen (must have been about 13/14 ish) was texting while crossing a road in gateshead and nearly got knocked over because they didnt realise the lights had changed. So yeah, while it sounds stupid, I think its a good idea.