UK drivers are banned from talking into mobiles for legitimate reasons, but are walking and talking pedestrians a public health hazard too? One US legislator thinks so, and he’s drawn up a bill banning people from doing that.
Republican politician Kenneth Dunkin hopes his bizarre bill will make it illegal to use a mobile phone …
If walking and cellphoning is banned today, it'll be walking and something else tomorrow, and the day after, and so on as technology keeps giving us new toys (not that toys are a prerequisite for inattention, btw). So just add an "inattention enhancement" that will increase the fine, jail time, and/or whatever other punishment is doled out to pedestrians who are being distracted and walking out into traffic outside of a crosswalk; those who survive the impact might learn a lesson, those who don't become self- solving problems, and those who actually demonstrate a modicum of reponsibility while walking and cellphoning (and chewing gum) won't be punished for others' stupidity. Since many 'Murkin burgs have fallen prey to having crosswalks every- frikken- where because ppl just don't want to walk that extra two blocks to a "real" intersection complete with traffic lights, crosswalks, and the whole pedestrian safety enchilada (this scheme makes money for the traffic device contractors, allows the elected ward/ council/ area representatives to demonstrate concern for constituent safety, and generates more fines/ income for law enforcement -- everybody wins! -- so it'll be a long slow walk around the block before ppl are given a reason to pay attention and not be stupid), I don't expect anyone to be unduly burdened.
...and it should be introduced in the UK quickly. On numerous occasions someone using a mobile phone has stepped out in front of my car, fortunately with no serious consequences (so far!). I've seen it happen to others as well, causing a car to swerve or brake sharply, and being hit by another vehicle.
Teenage mothers seem to be the worst offenders, talking or texting on the mobile, pushing a baby in a pushchair straight off the footpath onto the road in front of a stream of traffic, with the resultant squeal of brakes and the sound of crushing metal.
It would be interesting to see the statistics on how many children have been killed or injured in this way.
the more idiots on the phone while driving or walking just brings up their chances of removal from human gene pool through simple inattention on their part.(sadly some of these jersks will take some bystanders with them).the law or proposal of it would just try to save these self centered snobish pimples on butt of humanity.
besides i need something new to read on the darwin awards.
how about just modding the law a bit if passed ?
if caught either walking or driving while using their mobile let them stay in a small coordoned off area about 12 blocks square or so with other idiots let and let them take their chances against each other for few days while doing what they normally do. to pay for such entertaining way of passing on have it as ppv event with a bit of vegas mixed in so people can actully win some scratch while entertained.
besides can you think of more fitting punishment other than taking their toys away?
it would serve a purpouse in a way in following:
entertainment value
eliminates snobbish jerks at random for betterment of society at large
brings extra taxable revenue from gambling and entertainment industries
survivors are least most likely to repeat the offence
fear value to some of the most dim witted at large
could be a new sport
BTW i never said i was kind and understanding....just plain mean and practical for my own ends.
Now let's look at the rules for pedestrians - Oh look, they're supposed to stop, look and listen, and not just step straight out - even at a pedestrian crossing. They're also not supposed to cross diagonally or loiter and they are supposed to show due care and consideration for others.
So when was the last time you read the highway code John ?
Besides which, who is going to get hurt most ? Surely you have a responsibility to yourself not to get run down. The law is not there to guarantee your safety. The really annoying thing is that most of the dumb pedestrians I come across are also car drivers //shudder//
And I can tell you that while the politician is serious, I would have to suggest this as more of a way to raise revenue if you happen to be texting in front of an attentive cop.
In the City, we have an ordinance that its illegal to drive with a cell phone in your hand. You can wear a head set or have a wireless kit set up in your car, but you can be pulled over if you're seen with a cell in your hand up to your head.
Its a friggin joke. Everyday I walk my doggies in the city after work.
I can tell you that I see at least 5 people talking on their cell as they drive. You think pedestrians are an issue, try a driver, who is either from the 'burbs or out of town talking to someone and trying to get directions... its an accident waiting to happen.
Get caught, its a decent fine.
Durkin is an idiot. But hey! What do you expect from local politicians.
Many people here in Switzerland are being hit by cars because of iPod and such listeners.. One Girl was tossed 50 meters by a train killing her in the impact.. and many more pedestrians meeting the same fate with cars...
We are Just loosing track of stupidity, ie. we seem to have pointed all the fingers at poor drivers for too long..... Responsibility is for ALL of us.
I recently made a near miss, screeching to a halt, inches away.... I screamed at the crossing pedestrian, he had no clue..... An i was tormented for the rest of the day in my mind to what if I had hit him.....
Great Bill, hope it becomes more widely spread than this state, and makes it to Europe too
Well, not the repairing of the car and all that (although that's obviously bad too). But have you or some relative ever killed a pedestrian? A relative of mine has done that, and she was totally innocent in the whole business: drunk guy crossing a big highway, far from city, late at night; he did not get hit by the 18-wheeler, but my relative who was just to the left of the truck did not even have time to see the moron, and he ended up being thrown more than 100m away. Lucky for my family, they were going to the farm in a large pickup truck, so none of them got hurt.
So, she was quite traumatized by having killed someone, even if a scumbag (for you to have an idea, his family didn't even mind his death much, he was always drunk and beating up the wife and kids), and it not the driver's fault at all. She still has nightmares about that every once in a while, although years later it's mostly gone now.
Try living in Cambridge (the UK one) where every summer herds of continental kids come on school trips. Glued to their mobiles and iPods they step off the kerb in front of your vehicle, with the few who are paying attention still looking up the road in the wrong direction.
One day this will happen in front of a bus or HGV, and some French village will be a generation short.
True even when they *aren't* yakking into a phone. In general, people's situational awareness is just appalling. They don't seem to realise that they're in the way when they stop dead in pedestrian traffic. Most people don't even *try* and minimise the disruption they cause to other people's progress.
I always thought that the general rule of the road was that you give way to anyone whose vehicle is less powerful than your own -- so pedestrians have absolute right-of-way anywhere on the Queen's Highway.
Car drivers seem to think that as long as they are safe in their own little tin boxes, nobody else matters.
I still eat while driving, use my phone while driving, read a map/operate the Sat Nav, argue with the wife, grab the dog off my lap and throw him into the back seat again etc etc. But I now have the added distraction of keeping an eye out for the filth while doing so.. Taking a call and eating a Tescos pre-packed sarnie should be part of the driving test.
"Am not sure though, because most governments seem to legislating towards a "survival of the stupidest" policy."
That's because stupid people spend more, consume more, breed more stupid people for the benefit of the intelligent people. With that logic, he's only thinking of his wallet and comfortable lifestyle instead of giving a damn about stupid people. I say let stupid people do stupid things. After all, who are we to stop stupidity?
"It's no different than the driver talking to a passenger."
“It's no different than if I'm walking with a friend and talking".
Actually, that argument didn't work out when used for mobile phones in cars...
"It's no different than the driver talking to a passenger."
It is *very* different.
The bottom line is this. Using a road is an inherently risky task. Inattention greatly increases this risk. It makes perfect sense that rules of the road apply to all road users and those include pedestrians crossing the street.
"The pedestrian should too. But when it comes to it, it's the driver that's propelling a ton of metal at thirty miles per hour "
...Which will stop in 75ft. according to the Highway Code. So if you step out 40ft in front of a car doing 30mph, it's not going to stop. Laws of physics aand all that.
Just get the base station to automatically disconnect the call if it detects a doppler shift in the mobile's signal and peace and safety will reign! No more idiot pedestrians/cyclists/motorists distracted by phone calls. No more annoying gits on buses/trains filling the air with shouts of "Yeah, I'm on a train..."
The only way you can make a call is if you keep absolutely still. It could then be rebranded as the immobile phone...
....calls for a ban on short skirts in areas known to have been visited by rapists.
Scuse the tasteless analogy but all this Malthusian bollocks from car drivers is obscuring the twisted blame-the-victim mentality behind this proposal.
You're driving more than a ton of metal at high (or moderate) speeds then there's a power imbalance and responsibility there that demands you pay more attention than Mr Random Hungover-Guy out for a pint of milk.
Has no-one taken a driving test recently? Hazard Perception is part of it now. Drive assuming everyone is about to walk / pull out in front of you and everyone's a lot safer, no need for stupid laws that assume drivers own a city's streets.
First we need to work on Cyclists who don't have the first clue what is going on. Like 90% of them. Some are very good, but most are fools (at least where I live).
Then we work on the other problems.
@A J Stiles
No they dont. Read back and look for the post about the high way code.
No need to penalize mobile/cellphone use as an aggravating factor - if someone's jaywalking, they're already violating the law.
This is proof that there is no difference between the Republican and Democratic parties on important issues such as individual freedom.
Both parties are firmly committed to the nanny state, because the government has more power when it is the final arbiter on all aspects of the citizen's life - and politicians are first, last and always power-addicted cretins regardless of their political affiliation. They are the civic equivalent of the mother-in-law.
Actually, it is allowed to use cellphones in cars when installing a handsfree system, or via BT headset. The point here is that the driver needs both hands to navigate, and the point is not that drivers cannot engage in a conversation while on the road which they do anyway with fellow passangers...
In case of walking and talking, well the hands are not really needed, and no law can prevent us from talking to ourselves or other people while crossing the road - then why not allow mobile phones?
Besides, when using a BT headset it will be difficult to identify someone talking on the cellphone. So must we also take off the headset when crossing the road? And what about music players - which may have at least the same level of distraction, and also allow us to have a plug in our ears?
in the US some states (many in fact) have laws which give permanent right of way to pedestrians (you can't jaywalk if you have right of way) over vehicles. However many of these states are populated with motorists who have no concept of this (or even what "right of way" means) and routinely ignore traffic laws (much less general niceties such as not stopping with the middle of their large 4 door saloon car or SUV in the crosswalk or not leaning on their horn when you cross the street while they are several hundred feet and two intersections away).
If there is an issue with pedestrians on mobile phones being "nearly" hit by automobiles why not legislate against reckless driving, failing to take proper care when driving in urban areas and pedestrian crossings and make stiff penalties for hitting pedestrians the norm. Oh... wait, that's what things like charging drunk/distracted drivers with negligent homicide and manslaughter (both carry penalties of 15+ years of incarceration in state or federal prisons) or reckless endangerment are for.
it's real simple. we need all motorists to be preceded by a gentleman walking in the roadway, carrying a red lantern and sounding a klaxon every 50 feet.
Register
UK drivers are banned from talking into mobiles for legitimate reasons, but are walking and talking pedestrians a public health hazard too? One US legislator thinks so, and he’s drawn up a bill banning people from doing that. Republican politician Kenneth Dunkin hopes his bizarre bill will make it illegal to use a mobile phone …
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"inattention enhancement"
If walking and cellphoning is banned today, it'll be walking and something else tomorrow, and the day after, and so on as technology keeps giving us new toys (not that toys are a prerequisite for inattention, btw). So just add an "inattention enhancement" that will increase the fine, jail time, and/or whatever other punishment is doled out to pedestrians who are being distracted and walking out into traffic outside of a crosswalk; those who survive the impact might learn a lesson, those who don't become self- solving problems, and those who actually demonstrate a modicum of reponsibility while walking and cellphoning (and chewing gum) won't be punished for others' stupidity. Since many 'Murkin burgs have fallen prey to having crosswalks every- frikken- where because ppl just don't want to walk that extra two blocks to a "real" intersection complete with traffic lights, crosswalks, and the whole pedestrian safety enchilada (this scheme makes money for the traffic device contractors, allows the elected ward/ council/ area representatives to demonstrate concern for constituent safety, and generates more fines/ income for law enforcement -- everybody wins! -- so it'll be a long slow walk around the block before ppl are given a reason to pay attention and not be stupid), I don't expect anyone to be unduly burdened.
@Charles Hammond
By your logic, the existence of idiotic AOL girls going "omg a/s/l lol" would be proof that anyone with a keyboard is an "Air Head". Smooth.
I know, I know, feeding the troll...
Think of it...
"Think of it as evolution in action" is actually a quote from "Oath of fealty" by Niven and Pournelle, not RAH.
Paris, because in my perfect world she would already know this...
It's easy - make decent bumpers compulsory
Look, this is a temporary problem in the same way that you now only find rats that don't eat anything that looks like rat poison: darwinian selection.
Intelligence (did I spell that correctly?) is hereditary. This means a lack thereof too.
I'll have the lab coat, please
I agree with the proposal...
...and it should be introduced in the UK quickly. On numerous occasions someone using a mobile phone has stepped out in front of my car, fortunately with no serious consequences (so far!). I've seen it happen to others as well, causing a car to swerve or brake sharply, and being hit by another vehicle.
Teenage mothers seem to be the worst offenders, talking or texting on the mobile, pushing a baby in a pushchair straight off the footpath onto the road in front of a stream of traffic, with the resultant squeal of brakes and the sound of crushing metal.
It would be interesting to see the statistics on how many children have been killed or injured in this way.
Do Americans walk?
"I thought if they wanted to cross the street they'd get in their car, drive 2 miles..."
No, mate, for distances like that, we fly.
darwin at work...
why do they even bother?
simple darwin at work here...
the more idiots on the phone while driving or walking just brings up their chances of removal from human gene pool through simple inattention on their part.(sadly some of these jersks will take some bystanders with them).the law or proposal of it would just try to save these self centered snobish pimples on butt of humanity.
besides i need something new to read on the darwin awards.
how about just modding the law a bit if passed ?
if caught either walking or driving while using their mobile let them stay in a small coordoned off area about 12 blocks square or so with other idiots let and let them take their chances against each other for few days while doing what they normally do. to pay for such entertaining way of passing on have it as ppv event with a bit of vegas mixed in so people can actully win some scratch while entertained.
besides can you think of more fitting punishment other than taking their toys away?
it would serve a purpouse in a way in following:
entertainment value
eliminates snobbish jerks at random for betterment of society at large
brings extra taxable revenue from gambling and entertainment industries
survivors are least most likely to repeat the offence
fear value to some of the most dim witted at large
could be a new sport
BTW i never said i was kind and understanding....just plain mean and practical for my own ends.
@ John Watts
The highway code does NOT say give way to pedestrians.
It does say, that if you are turning at a junction, then any pedestrians *already* in the road have the right of way.
Rule 170
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070332
Now let's look at the rules for pedestrians - Oh look, they're supposed to stop, look and listen, and not just step straight out - even at a pedestrian crossing. They're also not supposed to cross diagonally or loiter and they are supposed to show due care and consideration for others.
Rules 1 to 35
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070108
So when was the last time you read the highway code John ?
Besides which, who is going to get hurt most ? Surely you have a responsibility to yourself not to get run down. The law is not there to guarantee your safety. The really annoying thing is that most of the dumb pedestrians I come across are also car drivers //shudder//
Anyone else live in Chicago? I do...
And I can tell you that while the politician is serious, I would have to suggest this as more of a way to raise revenue if you happen to be texting in front of an attentive cop.
In the City, we have an ordinance that its illegal to drive with a cell phone in your hand. You can wear a head set or have a wireless kit set up in your car, but you can be pulled over if you're seen with a cell in your hand up to your head.
Its a friggin joke. Everyday I walk my doggies in the city after work.
I can tell you that I see at least 5 people talking on their cell as they drive. You think pedestrians are an issue, try a driver, who is either from the 'burbs or out of town talking to someone and trying to get directions... its an accident waiting to happen.
Get caught, its a decent fine.
Durkin is an idiot. But hey! What do you expect from local politicians.
@Ian
Actually it was Jerry Pournelle, not Robert Heinlein. "Oath of Fealty."
BAN Headset Music use for the same reasons
Many people here in Switzerland are being hit by cars because of iPod and such listeners.. One Girl was tossed 50 meters by a train killing her in the impact.. and many more pedestrians meeting the same fate with cars...
We are Just loosing track of stupidity, ie. we seem to have pointed all the fingers at poor drivers for too long..... Responsibility is for ALL of us.
I recently made a near miss, screeching to a halt, inches away.... I screamed at the crossing pedestrian, he had no clue..... An i was tormented for the rest of the day in my mind to what if I had hit him.....
Great Bill, hope it becomes more widely spread than this state, and makes it to Europe too
@Think of the children...er drivers
Actually, that is something to think about...
Well, not the repairing of the car and all that (although that's obviously bad too). But have you or some relative ever killed a pedestrian? A relative of mine has done that, and she was totally innocent in the whole business: drunk guy crossing a big highway, far from city, late at night; he did not get hit by the 18-wheeler, but my relative who was just to the left of the truck did not even have time to see the moron, and he ended up being thrown more than 100m away. Lucky for my family, they were going to the farm in a large pickup truck, so none of them got hurt.
So, she was quite traumatized by having killed someone, even if a scumbag (for you to have an idea, his family didn't even mind his death much, he was always drunk and beating up the wife and kids), and it not the driver's fault at all. She still has nightmares about that every once in a while, although years later it's mostly gone now.
That said, the proposed bill is stupid anyway...
who the fcuk cares?
You dont like it? move. or vote out your retarded gov't and get a new one.
Or run for govt yourself then change the law.
accident waiting to happen
Try living in Cambridge (the UK one) where every summer herds of continental kids come on school trips. Glued to their mobiles and iPods they step off the kerb in front of your vehicle, with the few who are paying attention still looking up the road in the wrong direction.
One day this will happen in front of a bus or HGV, and some French village will be a generation short.
Surely it's nothing like using a car?
If you're walking and about to cross the road, you've got far more time to stop, look and listen. Though your listening may be impaired by the phone.
Hey, we could call this guy's laws Dunkin Do-Nots!
Some pedestrians have no road sense what so ever.
True even when they *aren't* yakking into a phone. In general, people's situational awareness is just appalling. They don't seem to realise that they're in the way when they stop dead in pedestrian traffic. Most people don't even *try* and minimise the disruption they cause to other people's progress.
Mobile phones and crossing the road.
This is a silly bill.
One of the problems why the IQ of the general public is deteriorating is because of all the dumbing down and molly-codling.
Natural selection is not taking place. In the "old days" the stupid amongst us would be weeded out. And now? They are beginning to out-number us.
Ampers.
Green Cross Code anyone???
Whatever happened to the green cross code??
Stop, look, listen. Pretty easy init!!
Got fined 50 bucks the other day for crossing on a empty road. I thought Jaywalking was a US thang not an Ozzy one......
Maybe the US could do with the classic Keegan adverts to save some lives : )
Surely Some Mistake
I always thought that the general rule of the road was that you give way to anyone whose vehicle is less powerful than your own -- so pedestrians have absolute right-of-way anywhere on the Queen's Highway.
Car drivers seem to think that as long as they are safe in their own little tin boxes, nobody else matters.
The laws cause more distractions
I still eat while driving, use my phone while driving, read a map/operate the Sat Nav, argue with the wife, grab the dog off my lap and throw him into the back seat again etc etc. But I now have the added distraction of keeping an eye out for the filth while doing so.. Taking a call and eating a Tescos pre-packed sarnie should be part of the driving test.
@ Vijay
"Am not sure though, because most governments seem to legislating towards a "survival of the stupidest" policy."
That's because stupid people spend more, consume more, breed more stupid people for the benefit of the intelligent people. With that logic, he's only thinking of his wallet and comfortable lifestyle instead of giving a damn about stupid people. I say let stupid people do stupid things. After all, who are we to stop stupidity?
"It's no different than the driver talking to a passenger."
“It's no different than if I'm walking with a friend and talking".
Actually, that argument didn't work out when used for mobile phones in cars...
"It's no different than the driver talking to a passenger."
It is *very* different.
The bottom line is this. Using a road is an inherently risky task. Inattention greatly increases this risk. It makes perfect sense that rules of the road apply to all road users and those include pedestrians crossing the street.
@ A J Stiles
"I always thought that the general rule of the road was that you give way to anyone whose vehicle is less powerful than your own"
Next come cyclists. :)
@John Watts - In the UK anyway
"The pedestrian should too. But when it comes to it, it's the driver that's propelling a ton of metal at thirty miles per hour "
...Which will stop in 75ft. according to the Highway Code. So if you step out 40ft in front of a car doing 30mph, it's not going to stop. Laws of physics aand all that.
NO NO NO, there is already a better solution.......
...we should put 'cushions' around all hard object such that clumsy texting pedestrians won't be hurt when they walk into things.
You think I'm kidding? It has already been done...
http://www.grumpyoldsod.com/text%20buffer%201.jpg
You'll all be very pleased to read that it's not an April Fools joke!
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=110104&in_page_id=34
@Geoff Mackenzie
With some refinement, your idea has merit.
Just get the base station to automatically disconnect the call if it detects a doppler shift in the mobile's signal and peace and safety will reign! No more idiot pedestrians/cyclists/motorists distracted by phone calls. No more annoying gits on buses/trains filling the air with shouts of "Yeah, I'm on a train..."
The only way you can make a call is if you keep absolutely still. It could then be rebranded as the immobile phone...
in other news...
....calls for a ban on short skirts in areas known to have been visited by rapists.
Scuse the tasteless analogy but all this Malthusian bollocks from car drivers is obscuring the twisted blame-the-victim mentality behind this proposal.
You're driving more than a ton of metal at high (or moderate) speeds then there's a power imbalance and responsibility there that demands you pay more attention than Mr Random Hungover-Guy out for a pint of milk.
Has no-one taken a driving test recently? Hazard Perception is part of it now. Drive assuming everyone is about to walk / pull out in front of you and everyone's a lot safer, no need for stupid laws that assume drivers own a city's streets.
Forget them...
First we need to work on Cyclists who don't have the first clue what is going on. Like 90% of them. Some are very good, but most are fools (at least where I live).
Then we work on the other problems.
@A J Stiles
No they dont. Read back and look for the post about the high way code.
It's just jaywalking.
No need to penalize mobile/cellphone use as an aggravating factor - if someone's jaywalking, they're already violating the law.
This is proof that there is no difference between the Republican and Democratic parties on important issues such as individual freedom.
Both parties are firmly committed to the nanny state, because the government has more power when it is the final arbiter on all aspects of the citizen's life - and politicians are first, last and always power-addicted cretins regardless of their political affiliation. They are the civic equivalent of the mother-in-law.
pointless idea
Actually, it is allowed to use cellphones in cars when installing a handsfree system, or via BT headset. The point here is that the driver needs both hands to navigate, and the point is not that drivers cannot engage in a conversation while on the road which they do anyway with fellow passangers...
In case of walking and talking, well the hands are not really needed, and no law can prevent us from talking to ourselves or other people while crossing the road - then why not allow mobile phones?
Besides, when using a BT headset it will be difficult to identify someone talking on the cellphone. So must we also take off the headset when crossing the road? And what about music players - which may have at least the same level of distraction, and also allow us to have a plug in our ears?
In some places...
in the US some states (many in fact) have laws which give permanent right of way to pedestrians (you can't jaywalk if you have right of way) over vehicles. However many of these states are populated with motorists who have no concept of this (or even what "right of way" means) and routinely ignore traffic laws (much less general niceties such as not stopping with the middle of their large 4 door saloon car or SUV in the crosswalk or not leaning on their horn when you cross the street while they are several hundred feet and two intersections away).
If there is an issue with pedestrians on mobile phones being "nearly" hit by automobiles why not legislate against reckless driving, failing to take proper care when driving in urban areas and pedestrian crossings and make stiff penalties for hitting pedestrians the norm. Oh... wait, that's what things like charging drunk/distracted drivers with negligent homicide and manslaughter (both carry penalties of 15+ years of incarceration in state or federal prisons) or reckless endangerment are for.
jaytalking...
it's real simple. we need all motorists to be preceded by a gentleman walking in the roadway, carrying a red lantern and sounding a klaxon every 50 feet.
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