Thirty nine states have completely prohibited texting while driving and have put harsh penalties in place to prevent what they call “distracted driving.” Now, a Nevada lawmaker wants to prevent distracted walking as well.
Nevada assemblyman Harvey Munford (D-Las Vegas) introduced a bill to the Nevada legislature last month to prohibit “a pedestrian from manually typing or entering text into, or sending or reading data using, a cellular telephone or other handheld wireless communications device while crossing a highway,” though Munford says the law could apply to small roads as well.
Under Assembly Bill 123, first-time violators would receive a warning. But third-time violators would be slapped with a whopping $250 fine, a penalty greater than the cost of a 16GB iPhone 5. Exceptions would be made for those dealing with a medical emergency or reporting criminal activity.
Munford came up with the idea for the law by sitting in his car and watching people text as they crossed the street.
“I was just amazed by what I saw,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “So many people are almost oblivious. They are texting and texting, totally unaware as they cross even six-lane highways.”
Munford was also inspired by a study that tracked 1,000 people crossing 20 different streets in Seattle. The study indicated just under 30 percent of pedestrians were doing something else while crossing the street – seven percent of whom were observed texting, which the study determined to be the riskiest pedestrian behavior.
Fort Lee, N.J. has already banned texting while jaywalking, but Nevada would be the first state to implement a law that bans texting while walking period.
