[Gaborn]

Avid texters beware: Fort Lee, N.J. police said they will begin issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to pedestrians who are caught texting while walking. “It’s a big distraction. Pedestrians aren’t watching where they are going and they are not aware,” said Thomas Ripoli, chief of the Fort Lee Police Department. 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. “When I walk I still look around. I’m not like constantly looking down the whole time,” said resident Sue Choe. Another woman complained about the tickets were “a lot of money.” Officers handed out pamphlets during a short grace period in March before they began aggressively going after “dangerous walkers.” More than 117 tickets have been issued, according to the New Jersey Record. Two professors at Stony Brook University in New York conducted a study on walking and texting. They found texters are 60 percent more likely to veer off line than non-texters. “We want to raise awareness that a real disruption occurs because of texting,” Eric Lamberg, co-author of the study, told Long Island Business News. “Texting disrupts your ability much more than does talking.”

Story Here

This is basically a pretty blatant money grab.

[SUPREME1]

FUCK THE POLICE.

[.GqueB.]

I'm ok with this.

[JABEE]

Good.

[Scullibundo]

What about reading a newspaper while walking?

Christ man! You could have killed everybody on that sidewalk!

[sixteen-bit]

Good.

Some dumbass cunt bumped into me today, not paying attention while walking and texting.

[Copernicus]

Story Here This is basically a pretty blatant money grab.

Any money grab that dezombifies zombies is a-ok.

[SpectreFire]

Great, now people are going to do a fullstop in the middle of the fucking sidewalk to text causing even more of a danger.

[Utako]

My face is always glued to my phone – unless I'm crossing the street. I refuse to be the guy who dies because he couldn't look away from his device.

[onemic]

That is bullshit

[Des0lar]

What about reading a newspaper while walking? Christ man! You could have killed everybody on that sidewalk!

Yeah stupid fine. What if I'm reading a book, checking the weather, looking down just because I don't want to look all those crazy ass people in the face?

[Prez]

They should start giving tickets to people who walk slowly while zigzagging too. I hate walking behind those people.

[Persona7]

About time, it would be better if it was a few hundred dollars more and it came into effect in every state.


Hopefully this means that I won't have to play reverse frogger anymore in parking lots with assholes on their cell phones.

What's their stance on jogging or running while texting?

Natural Selection.

[IceCold]

What's their stance on jogging or running while texting?

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Ha. Well there's a bunch of videos of people texting or messing with their MP3 players crossing a street and getting hit.

[TheLastFantasy]

I thought the title said "Texting while wanking"...

[Vilam]

Fuck off nanny state.

[Fraull]

What the fuck hahaha, thats ridiculous.

[Scullibundo]

People should now start holding their arms out to signal which way they're turning and start screeching when they're backing up.

[strafer]

So what, I can't text my girlfriend telling her I'll be a little late?

Bull to the shit.

[Messypandas]

“dangerous walkers.”

YES

[phosphor112]

I thought this says jaywalking? If so, I'm ok. Otherwise. Fuck off.

[Gentleman Jack]

What about reading a newspaper while walking?

What's a newspaper?

I've seen people text while cycling. That seems a more dangerous situation since regardless of their surroundings someone is much more likely to get injured.

[Emerson]

What a load of old bollocks.

[Futureman]

What's their stance on jogging or running while texting?

I've done it. ha. I jog with my smartphone and I've done it once or twice.

As for the OP... is this only if you are JAYWALKING and texting? or can they literally give you a ticket for, example, walking on a sidewalk not near an intersection while texting?

if it's the later, that's insane.

[SUPREME1]

Smh, people agree with this attempt to raise funds via cops?


GTFO.

[SyNapSe]

Can I surf the web, browse my twitter feed, etc? Seems like it'd be hard to enforce this law.

[Divvy]

This infringes on my right to see hilarious videos of people walking into things while texting.

[Dude Abides]

I'll just show them that I'm actually watching porn, not texting.

[Arcteryx]

Oh great a terrible accident gif, all I needed. While they're at it, why not fine people who listen to music with earphones? Being unable to hear your surroundings is pretty dangerous too!

This. I'd actually be ok with it. Much more dangerous than texting while walking. I see people jogging all the time with earbuds/iems in BOTH ears. Splat on the pavement waiting to happen.

[Prez]

This. I'd actually be ok with it. Much more dangerous than texting while walking. I see people jogging all the time with earbuds/iems in BOTH ears. Splat on the pavement waiting to happen.

Brilliant idea, while we're at it blind and deaf people shouldn't be allowed to go outside.

[Copernicus]

Oh great a terrible accident gif, all I needed. While they're at it, why not fine people who listen to music with earphones? Being unable to hear your surroundings is pretty dangerous too!

Uh...it's not legal to drive with heaphones on here, and probably alot of other places too.

[Parallax]

Uh...it's not legal to drive with heaphones on here, and probably alot of other places too.

im pretty sure he means walking with headphones.

[Gentleman Jack]

And are these tickets to be issued just to jaywalking-texters, or any texters just walking on the sidewalk? Absurd if it's the latter.

The story doesn't mention in what context the tickets were given, only that over a hundred have been issued in less than two months since the ordinance took effect. From my perspective, that's a lot of tickets for a small borough, indicating the police are just handing them out like free candy to pedestrians who are otherwise not creating an immediate danger for themselves or others. They're redefining 'jaywalking' as 'texting and walking anywhere if a cop sees you.' As Gaborn mentioned, it's a naked money grab by law enforcement.

[Alrus]

Uh...it's not legal to drive with heaphones on here, and probably alot of other places too.

I meant while walking. I know it's illegal while driving (and rightly so)

[Souldriver]

This. I'd actually be ok with it. Much more dangerous than texting while walking. I see people jogging all the time with earbuds/iems in BOTH ears. Splat on the pavement waiting to happen.

Oh come on! You're just not fit to be in a public place, if you can only walk around safely if there's absolutely nothing distracting you.

Listening to music is the same as talking to someone while walking. Should we outlaw conversation on the sidewalk? No. You just have to be alert when in traffic, in any given situation.

[Arcteryx]

Oh come on! You're just not fit to be in a public place, if you can only walk around safely if there's absolutely nothing distracting you. Listening to music is the same as talking to someone while walking. Should we outlaw conversation on the sidewalk? No. You just have to be alert when in traffic, in any given situation.

lol

[Fury Sense]

I wouldn't pay. I'm glad I'm not aware of any of that kind of bullshit in my town. I would end up spending all my time defending my rights instead of enjoying them.

[Black-Box]

seems good, you should also be fined for walking across a cross walk when the lights are not on.

[Archer]

wow at the thread being nuked.

def for the better.

[Souldriver]

lol

I agree. At least while listening to music you're still looking ahead.

[Kukuk]

I like the idea of stopping idiots from texting while walking, but really doubt this is going to do it. If a person thinks they are immune to being hit by a car, they are also going to think they won't get a ticket for texting, so they'll do it anyway.

[Leeroy3101]

Is this while walking on the side walk or is this while jaywalking across the street? The article doesn't make this clear which, I think, is causing the outrage on this thread.

[Kusagari]

The fact people on this forum are fine with this law is even worse than the law itself.

[BlueSummers]

Wtf, where did that gif go and wasn't this thread 2 pages already? Maybe I'm going crazy..

[Bombadil]

Good. Some dumbass cunt bumped in ed into me today, not paying attention while walking and texting.

You should have used that as a segue into flirting with her instead of calling her a c*nt on the internet.

Edit: Unless you were using the term to refer to a man.

Also, good job to the mods who took down that awful gif. First of all, to the guy who posted it (if you can read this), that guy appeared to be in the bike lane with his bike. The car that hit him was 100 percent at fault for what happened.

[sixteen-bit]

Wtf, where did that gif go and wasn't this thread 2 pages already? Maybe I'm going crazy..

Those posts were removed by moderators.

[Veal]

Glad to see that guy get perma'd. That was way over the line!

[Gr1mLock]

Fuck you Jersey.

[AnathemicOne]

Wtf, where did that gif go and wasn't this thread 2 pages already? Maybe I'm going crazy..

Thankfully the mods cleared up the thread and that .gif post