This I like: Stamford, Connecticut proposing law that would fine individuals who haphazardly walk and text at the same time
Seldom does a day go by where a dickface on their phone manages to inconvenience me. Whether it’s while driving or while on foot, at least once a day, it’s inevitable that I will get stuck behind someone not paying attention, because their face is buried in their fucking phone. Short of making it law and penalizing those who violate said law, this is something that will never have any chance at improving; and even if there is a law in place, that’s still not going to deter every jackhole who thinks they’re better than the law and completely incapable of getting busted by it.
Regardless, I have to give kudos to Stamford (along with Honolulu) for at least trying to curb stupid behavior by proposing to make it illegal to walk and text at the same time. As long as there are police willing to enforce this kind of behavior, I could see it actually having a degree of effectiveness at deterring people from doing so, or at least adopting better etiquette and learning how to get out of the way if they have a dire and essential text message to send immediately.
$30 for a first-time offense isn’t a back-breaker, but it is inconvenient. If I I’m out with mythical gf and we’re on our way to the movies, and I get busted texting and walking and get a $30 fine; that’s basically admission for two right there, that I have to throw away due to my own idiocy, instead of getting movie tickets. $30 lost basically means no drinks, popcorn or snacks, because I’m responsible with my money and $30 lost in one place will essentially mean $30 not used in another, expendable way.
And if people keep getting dinged $30 at a time, if not more, if they escalate the fines based on repeat offenses, it truly might actually make people think about their texting habits. Text messaging is fine, but texting in a manner that inconveniences the world around you, and potentially in potentially physically harmful ways is a different story. If you do not have the wherewithal of everything around you, or zero spatial awareness at all, you really shouldn’t be trying to walk while doing something as mentally taxing as tapping out a text message in the first place.
I am 110% in favor of this law, and I would love to see it reach Georgia. I’ve love to be a fly on the wall watching busy areas, where cops might actually pull people aside and issue them citations because their head is down, they’re not watching where they’re going, and they bump into people and make a mess or hurt a child. Imagine how much it must suck to be booked because of such frequent violations, or on account of a warrant issued for non-payment. Get sent to the pokey, and while waiting inside a holding cell, a conversation breaks out between two perps, where one is in on violent domestic abuse, while the other is incarcerated, because they simply couldn’t stop text messaging.
Good for Stamford for proposing this law. I can only hope the rest of the world gets the memo and decides to do similarly.
