NY Lawmaker Tries To Ban Gadgetry In Crosswalks
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on February 7, 2007 at 7:27:44 PM
A stupid NY lawmaker is trying to remove our right to privacy when walking in public places. What I want to do while walking in public is no business to anyone else as long as I'm not hurting the rights of others.
Quote
State Sen. Carl Krueger, a Democrat who represents New York's 27th district in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, claimed that the phenomenon of "iPod oblivion" has led to a number of fatal accidents on urban streets. While he did not cite any statistical studies that have indicated a rise in such incidents, he referred to the January death of a 23-year-old Brooklyn man who, tuned into his iPod headphones, walked into the path of a city bus. The bill would effectively make it illegal to use any kind of portable electronic device--a music or video player, cell phone, smart phone, gaming device, etc.--while crossing the street in cities such as New York, Albany and Buffalo. Offenders would be slapped with a $100 fine and a criminal court summons. Joggers and bicyclists would have to limit their iPod use to city parks in which no street crossing would be involved.