Text while crossing the road, get slapped with a fine in New York

It doesn’t matter how important it is, but you shouldn’t text while crossing the streets in New York. Because the city thinks it’s safe to wait. And the daredevils, who might want to overrule this order and go around with their reckless behaviour of texting on the phone while walking, might get hit by a fine.

As per the latest reports, a bill has been introduced in New York’s state senate that bans texting while walking. Therefore, if the bill is passed and gets introduced as a law, people in New York will be fined from around $25 to $50 on the first offence; those repeating the offence within 18 months, will be fined up to $250. They will be hit by a fine if police officers catch them using a portable electronic device while crossing a roadway.
In some cases, some people might be exempted from this ban such as employees of hospitals, emergency response operators, employees of fire departments, those trying to contact hospitals and emergency services among others. Also, the bill does not only take texting under its umbrella, but also includes taking photos, playing games, sending emails, and even searching the internet.
If records are to go by, New York state records 300 pedestrian fatalities annually. And even if texting on the phone while walking is not the only reason for causing so many fatalities, New York State Senator John Liu, who introduced this bill, is definite that it might lower the accident figure for sure.
The senator further said that the bill does not mention anything about talking on the phone, but only about using it for texting, as they believe one can wait for at least five seconds to get to the other side of the road.