Texting While Walking Will Earn You an $85 Ticket In Fort Lee, New Jersey

Fort Lee, New Jersey, former motion picture capital of America, will start issuing tickets to people who are caught texting and walking. There have been "three fatal pedestrian-involved accidents this year," ABC News reports. And walking around in a state of complete obliviousness is a bad idea. So obviously the solution is to start issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to adults and kids caught texting while walking—117 of them so far. 

The Fort Lee texting while walking crackdown joins scores of popular and totally ineffective bans on texting while driving.

More me on the downsides of texting bans in The New York Times.

Comments

[Skid Marx]

Freedom?

[Number 7]

That ship sailed a long time ago.

[R C Dean]

It hasn't sailed. You can still see it, right there at the bottom of the harbor.

[fried wylie]

explains all these rats.

[rho]

A+ will read again.

[Number 7]

Since texting is electronic talking, talking while walking must be next on the list.

[Hugh Akston]

Living in New Jersey should be punishable by a fine.

[Skid Marx]

I believe it already is.

[fried wylie]

gotta appreciate the revenue possibilities of your proposal, but the death sentence is far more appropriate here.

[cw]

It is in practically every state. It's called a state income tax. 😛

You're punished with this fine if you do something productive, anyway.

[Rich]

obviously the solution is to start issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to adults and kids caught texting while walking

Katherine, I must respectfully disagree. Obviously the solution is to require every cell phone owner to purchase a yearly text-while-walking license.

[Pro Libertate]

That's a great idea. With courses and a texting-while-walking test. A written test, too, I think.

[Bill]

5 day waiting period?

[Paul.]

Shouldn't one require a license to walk? A "walker's license" if you will.

[Edwin]

Living in New Jersey I can attest that this kind of nanny-state bullshit is not part of the culture, it's only from the politicians. Listen to 101.5 FM Denis & Judi in South/Central/Shore Jersey and you'd be amazed how many callers call in with a libertarian slant on the topics (it's a talk show).

there is a contingent of people who do believe in that, but I've found them only so far in my weird immigrant family and their too-stupid to form their opinion kids (young adults my age)

Living in Fort Less I can attest that the walking thing isn't.... ehhh, you know what it actually is. Fort Lee in particular I could definitely see as being exceptionally dangerous for pedestrians. Right around the bridge area is a mix of high-traffic, but still sometimes fast roads, in the middle of shopping and residential areas. Especially where I think it's Lemoine? Whatever 9-W turns into, right around the 7-11, in that area where there's an underpass, the grade can make visibility difficult, while at the same time there's plenty of stuff to produce pedetrianism. Then you go further up past the food emporium and the bus stop is there by the GWB bridge entrance over pass, and that road people travel fast but there's so much shopping and shit around. And then there are certain areas, like around Edwin Ave, with weird dips that mess with visibility, while still being fast-traveled roads.

It's still a stupid law, though.

[fried wylie]

good to know that your elected representatives don't represent you anymore than anyone else's.

Living in Fort Less I can attest that the walking thing isn't.... ehhh, you know what it actually is.

sorry, I don't, since you yadda-yadda'd the important part.

as for the area being exceptionally dangerous for pedestrians: put in pedestrian overpasses, adjust signage, etc. plenty of options that might actually address the problem.

[Fist of Etiquette]

There have been "three fatal pedestrian-involved accidents this year," ABC News reports.

OMG! How fast are texing pedestrians walking that the people they're running into are dying?

[Tweeted from Blackber-

[fried wylie]

L-muthafucking-OL

[fried wylie]

El, muthafucking, Oh El

[Raston Bot]

I blame bloated sidewalk budgets for making walking so easy in the first place! Let the concrete revert back to weedy cobblestone.

[fried wylie]

just because you tool around in your sport-utility footware...

[A Serious Man]

Tip of the hat to New Jersey for convienently keeping the nation's most outstanding retards and douchebags in one place.

[fried wylie]

oh yeah. here I was thinking the law was retarded, but you reminded me that Jersey Shore exists...now the law seems entirely sensible and reasonable.

[Skid Marx]

"Ripoli said the borough, which is home to approximately 35,000 residents, has suffered three fatal pedestrian-involved accidents this year. He hopes his crackdown on people who display dangerous behavior while walking will make his town safer, but not everyone is on board with the idea of issuing $85 tickets."

Wait a minute. There is nothing in the report indicating the three fatalities were connected to texting.

[Adam330]

Clearly, the risk of dying is not sufficient to stop people from engaging in this activity. If we add the risk of an $85 fine, then they will clearly stop. Brilliant.

[Invisible Finger]

Are the police capable of discerning whether or not I am texting or just looking up directions on my GPS?

[R C Dean]

The real question is, will they care?

Or even, should they? Distracted walking is distracted walking, right?

And, speaking of distracted walking, who will they ticket when somebody gets hit because they were ogling some chick's incredible ass?

[fried wylie]

I'm amazed the law doesn't cover phone-calls-while-walking too.

[Pro Libertate]

Shouldn't the distractor be fined rather than the innocent distractee? After all, that's akin to someone shoving a phone in your face while you're walking.

[Groovus Maximus]

This is one of those times when a provocatively clad, comely woman can say, "He was ogling. He was asking for it!.

[Adam330]

5 words- tell it to the judge.

[Jerry]

But I can still play frogger on my smartphone when walking, right?!!

[fried wylie]

+1 Meta

[Paul.]

Bullshit. That's like, +10 vorpal blade meta.

[RingoHungo]

Cops clearly have a shortage of REAL crime to deal with there lol.

http://www.Privacy-Buddy.tk

[Joe M]

How does this comport with the pedestrian-friendly mixed-use neighborhoods the smart growthers are pushing on us? They should just outlaw cars to make the pedestrians safer.

[Invisible Finger]

So what happens when a texting driver and a texting pedestrian collide?

[fried wylie]

a new Apple product is born.

[Peter L]

Assuming they both survive, they both get tickets. But in reality, the driver gets charged with involuntary manslaughter and the pedestrian gets a long nap in a pine box.

[Robert]

Why stop there, when they can go on to outlaw pedestrians to make people standing still safer?

[Peter L]

I love my pedestrian friendly, mixed-use neighborhood. This law does not affect such places in any way except to make it safer. Really, is it so hard to stand still for a few seconds while you send the text? In a nice pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use neighborhood, there is probably a tree you can stand in the shade of or a bench along the sidewalk to sit on while you send your text.

[Old Man With Candy]

Where is Richard Fader in all of this?

[crazyfingers]

It's for the citizens own good, you don't want to get mauled by a BEAR do you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmhvdtX72eQ

[fried wylie]

I'm more concerned about tigers.

[Brandon]

How much money is this projected to raise?

[Peter L]

Texting takes more attention than most people realize. By trying to text while simultaneously doing something else, one puts other people in danger. Laws are supposed to protect people from being harmed by others, so therefore it is perfectly reasonable to outlaw texting while driving/walking.