American cities are discovering a new public health threat. But don’t worry: They are passing laws against it—and will soon start collecting fines that go into city coffers.
The scourge in question is “distracted walking.” It turns out that many pedestrians crossing streets are so glued to their smartphones that they fail to pay attention to traffic signals and passing cars. In their wisdom, cities are concluding that if the prospect of being flattened by a speeding vehicle doesn’t encourage phone addicts from watching where they walk, perhaps a small fine will.
In July, Honolulu became the first city in the country to pass such an ordinance. It bans “texting or anything else requiring the pedestrian to look at the device, including using laptop computers, video gaming devices and pagers, while crossing a city street or highway,” according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Fines start at $15. Stamford, Conn., is considering a similar law.
We at The Scrapbook are no experts on Charles Darwin, but if memory serves, we believe On the Origin of Species contains an extended section on the adaptation habits of cell phone addicts who cross busy intersections. It’s between the chapters on the woolly mammoth and the dodo.
In fairness, pedestrian traffic deaths are on the rise. But that increase could just as easily spring from distracted drivers as from distracted walkers. We’ll be sure to look up the relevant statistics while driving home this evening.
That said, the whole issue brings to mind the old joke: Why did the chicken cross the road? It can’t remember—it was too busy posting a selfie on Instagram.
