Fines for Distracted Walkers?
About Brooklyn: Remove Your iPod Before Crossing
Invasion of the iPod Zombies
Andrew Sullivan noted two years ago in The Sunday Times that New Yorkers have retreated into the iWorld. The term iPod Zombie has even made it into the Urban Dictionary.
But how big of a safety problem is distracted walking?
It's not the iPod, it's the Pernod
Where are the stats to back up the need for this ban? A study comparing pedestrian fatalities from 1998-2001 lists "inattentive" as one of the factors, but a minor one seen in only 3% of the fatalities. Meanwhile, the real culprit is alcohol, with 40% of all pedestrian fatalities involving pedestrian use of alcohol: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, April 2003. It would make much more sense to criminalize walking drunk rather than crossing the street with an iPod.
Walking Safety and Etiquette
Some walking and running events, such as the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, ban cell phones and mp3 players while on the course in the interest of safety and etiquette. But as with distracted drivers, I still see people being much more distracted when in conversation with their walking or running buddies rather than when plugged into an iPod. Cell phones seem much more distracting than iPods as people are carrying on an interactive conversation.
Should this be criminalized? Are we going to far into the nanny state? Discuss this in the comments.
I live in Kuala Lumpur, a big city by any standard, and drivers are fast and generally don’t follow the rules of the road. In other words, walking the streets is not the safest thing to do, gadget or no gadget.
I always walk with my iPod and listen to either techno or heavy metal and I listen to it loud. BUT I am very alert to my surroundings and make sure that I can always here the traffic. When I’m walking, nothing escapes my attention. What I have noticed is when I listened to spoken word tracks, news podcasts or audio books, my concentration of my surroundings deminished. I was to focused on what was being said. Phone calls do the same. So I only listen to music and turn my phone off. You don’t need to concentrate to benefit from the beat of the music. I think it is extreme to create such laws. Why punish the responsible majority for the stupidity of the few?
I always listen to music when I am walking it keeps me om focus. You need to do something to enjoy the walk or run. Music makes you relax no rish your walk or run. Walking or running is enjoyable but music makes it better, it keeps you going and concentrating on what you are doing. I live in the midwest so walking for me isnt that bad. I walk mainly in the city so there are a lot of stop lights and all. Certain times of the day you have to be careful with the the traffic but who doesnt no matter where you walk or run. I see no reason for any laws that say you cant use your music while walking or running odd I say.
Government can overstep its bounds when it imposes laws over too many things. Sure, government tries to protect its citizens, but where does it end? Will there come a day when kitchen knives will be banned in rooms other than the kitchen? or banned altogether because of the potential harm they can cause? We are supposed to be responsible for ourselves and our safety, at least to the degree of crossing the street. I can see a ban on these devices while driving, just as it should be better imposed with cell phones. But please, I thought my country had more freedom than this.
Yep, its the walking companions that put us at risk. Talking and enjoying the company of others is what makes walking so much fun and is what makes me miss turns when following a volkssport walking map. Ban those walking partners! Fine those who walk together! Bah Humbug! Liz