<p>New Jersey town issuing tickets for walking and texting. What new laws will (local) government come up with next?</p>
<p>[New</a> Jersey town bans texting while walking; gum chewing still allowed](<a href=“http://www.mobileburn.com/19573/news/new-jersey-town-bans-texting-while-walking-gum-chewing-still-allowed]New”>How to Use Instagram App: A Guide for Novice)</p>
<p>How do they know that you are texting and not reading your email, changing the song on you wireless headset, checking the weather, checking your position on a map, reading the news or checking your stocks?</p>
<p>Sorry, but I think this is a very important law. In NYC people are almost or sometimes hit by cars or bikes when they are texting and crossing the street. Sometimes they stop in the middle of the street and forget where they are going. It’s so dangerous. I think it’s more dangerous than just reading email, or something else. It’s certainly not as frivolous as the title of the cited article would imply.</p>
<p>I agree it is dangerous.</p>
<p>There is a new app out called Walk and type. It turns your phone camera on so you see what is through the camera lens as you type.</p>
<p>[The</a> Record: Walk this way - NorthJersey.com](<a href=“http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/151281785_Walk_this_way.html]The”>http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/151281785_Walk_this_way.html)
This article says the 117 tickets were for jaywalking.</p>
<p>[Fort</a> Lee, New Jersey Cracking Down On ‘Dangerous Walking’ By Handing Out Summonses CBS New York](<a href=“http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/05/10/fort-lee-nj-cracking-down-on-dangerous-walking-by-handing-out-summonses/]Fort”>Fort Lee, N.J. Cracking Down On 'Dangerous Walking' By Handing Out Summonses - CBS New York)</p>
<p>Are you kidding me?? That’s ridiculous. Because some idiots run into bikes, we’re going to ban it for everyone? Dumb, dumb, dumb.</p>
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<p>I had a lady walk right out in front of me at WalMart last night without even looking. She was carrying a plant in her hand; should that be banned too?</p>
<p>In a time when police services are being cut due to budget constraints, I would rather have our men and women in uniform protecting us from criminals and not walking texters.</p>
<p>I have far more people not paying attention that are talking to friends or those who are trying to take care of children. Maybe we should just make it illegal to talk, walk in pairs, and ban children from sidewalks while we’re at it.</p>
<p>I did not find any articles which mentioned an actual law as in something voted on and codified by the town government. Most of the articles say the police have started ticketing people for unsafe behaviors, such as jaywalking or crossing when the lights say not to. Since “unsafe walkers” pose a danger to others, as well as to themselves, I see no problem with enforcing the laws and statutes already in place.</p>
<p>I tried to send a text and walk at the same time and realized I couldn’t safely do it, especially since I’m a fast walker, so I stopped for a second to type and send the text then carried on. Trying to text and walk at the same time is about as safe as walking with your eyes shut. If you think you can text safely while actually walking at a normal or faster pace - you’re wrong.</p>
<p>I don’t really care for a law for this though. When texting while driving a car one can easily kill others but when texting while walking they’d likely only hurt themselves and we can leverage Darwinism to fix that.</p>
<p>GGD, maybe you can’t, but some can. In fact, I’d say many of my generation can. I can send a perfect text without ever looking at the screen, although I do check before I send it. Especially with swipe, I can text with one hand. It’s the same as being able to type without looking at your keyboard. Of course, you need to read what the other person sends but that doesn’t take more than a few seconds. </p>
<p>I like sylvan’s idea. Ticket those who are being unsafe- not everyone regardless of whether they’re causing problems or not. Those who walk out when the light says no should be given a ticket whether they’re texting or not.</p>
<p>I walk and text, and can even do it while walking the dog. </p>
<p>But I don’t ever do it when I’m crossing the street. I live in a college town, and when driving I have to watch for students not only crossing the streets recklessly but doing it while texting.</p>
<p>In my town there’s only a couple of people at most on a city block at a time where I walk, but I could see it as a problem in midtown Manhattan.</p>