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Illinois Considering Anti-Walking-and-Texting Bill

by Terrence O'Brien on July 31, 2008 at 10:49 AM

Illinois Considers Anti-Walking-and-Texting Bill
Ok, so the cushioned lamp posts aimed at protecting distracted texters from harming themselves were a bit of a joke and a publicity stunt, but the recently proposed legislation in Illinois that would make it illegal to use a cell phone for text messaging while crossing the street is not.

While seemingly ridiculous, the bill's sponsor Ken Dunkin assures us that this is no laughing matter. Two pedestrians have been killed this year in New York City because they were allegedly texting while crossing the street. Even one of our contributors had a close call and was saved from a potentially life-ending texting and crossing accident by a certain Star Trek star. But famous folks are getting into texting-while-walking accidents, too. Take Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, who twisted her ankle when she stepped off a curb while distracted by her BlackBerry.

Though there aren't any hard statistics regarding injuries from texting while walking, anecdotal evidence abounds. The American College of Emergency Physicians issued a warning about the practice after it gathered reports from ERs around the country, including a pair of deaths in California, and loads of superficial wounds from walking into telephone poles, lamp posts, and yes, even walls.

So maybe there is something to this law, which on the surface is just begging to be mocked. However, like jaywalking, this law is not likely to be easily enforceable, we think. [Source: GeekSugar and CBS News]

Tags: law, safety, sms, text messaging, texting, TextMessaging

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