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Honolulu's "Distracted Walking" Law Goes Into Effect

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday October 25 2017, @07:15PM   Printer-friendly
from the try-looking-up dept.

takyon writes:

Honolulu, Hawaii police will begin to write tickets for people caught using their phones or other electronic devices while crossing at a crosswalk:

Police in Honolulu will begin writing tickets for people who get distracted by their cellphones while walking in a cross walk Wednesday. Honolulu is the first major city in the country to pass such a law, citing a high rate of pedestrians being hit in crosswalks.

"Starting today, texting while walking in a cross walk can get you a ticket," Hawaii Public Radio's Bill Dorman reports for our Newscast unit. "In fact, a downward glance at a screen of any kind will cost you—a phone, a tablet, a video game."

Under the new law, the only legal reason for a pedestrian to use a cellphone while crossing a street or highway would be to call 911 to report an emergency.

Minimum fines for breaking the new law start at $15; for repeat offenders, the penalty ranges from $75 to $99. Higher rates — up to $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second, and $500 for a third — had been considered earlier this year.

Also at the City and County of Honolulu. Bill 6 (2017).

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 26 2017, @07:05AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 26 2017, @07:05AM (#587731)

    You are an idiot. It's the walkers they should be going after. A car has lot less changes to stop than a pedestrian. And ultimately, it's the pedestrian that gets hurt. It does not really help you or anyone else to get some money for being in wheelchair your whole life. The drivers life could be ruined aswell and the society as a whole loses. This is not about whose "right"it is to go first, it's simple fucking logic.

    Pedestrians and cyclists need to watch where they are going, they have the power and they are the ones getting physically hurt.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 26 2017, @01:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 26 2017, @01:41PM (#587794)

    I suppose it's simple fucking logic from the viewpoint that a car is a perfectly natural method of conveyance that has been in use throughout all of recorded history.

    Why would anybody ever walk anywhere? Only homeless people walk.