Should NYC Ban Text Walking Too?
August 15th, 2008
Queens Councilmember David Weprin is proposing a bill to ban text messaging while driving in the city. The proposal comes in response to an increase in text messaging while driving, particularly among young people, and an automobile crash involving text messaging that killed five teenagers in the Finger Lakes region last summer.
But should there be a ban on pedestrian text messaging too?
Last month, the American College of Emergency Physicians issued an alert warning that they are seeing an increasein emergency room injuries and deaths related to text messaging while walking, biking, and rollerblading, as well as driving. (Listen to a National Public Radio interview with an ER doctor talking about the dangers of “text walking.”)
OneIllinois lawmaker thinks it’s worth someconsideration and has proposed a bill to ban the use of wireless devices while crossing the street. “It’s becoming more and more of a common problem with people haplessly crossing an intersection and almost killing themselves,” Rep. Ken Dunkin of Chicago told the Chicago Tribune.
By Mark Berkey-Gerard on August 15, 2008, 8:56 amIn category: Tech,Transportation | 2 Comments »