[LINK] Ipod fines in NY

[Jan Whitaker]

Even I thought this was nuts:

New York may ban iPods while crossing street
Wed Feb 7, 2007 2:29 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Yorkers who blithely cross the street 
listening to an iPod or talking on a cell phone could soon face a $100 fine.

New York State Sen. Carl Kruger says three pedestrians in his 
Brooklyn district have been killed since September upon stepping into 
traffic while distracted by an electronic device. In one case 
bystanders screamed "watch out" to no avail.

Kruger says he will introduce legislation on Wednesday to ban the use 
of gadgets such as Blackberry devices and video games while crossing 
the street.

"Government has an obligation to protect its citizenry," Kruger said 
in a telephone interview from Albany, the state capital. "This 
electronic gadgetry is reaching the point where it's becoming not 
only endemic but it's creating an atmosphere where we have a major 
public safety crisis at hand."

Tech-consuming New Yorkers trudge to work on sidewalks and subways 
like an army of drones, appearing to talk to themselves on wireless 
devices or swaying to seemingly silent tunes.

"I'm not trying to intrude on that," Kruger said. "But what's 
happening is when they're tuning into their iPod or Blackberry or 
cell phone or video game, they're walking into speeding buses and 
moving automobiles. It's becoming a nationwide problem."


Jan Whitaker
JLWhitaker Associates, Melbourne Victoria
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
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