NY senator wants to introduce cell phone ban for pedestrians

New Yorkers should be banned from talking on cell phones when crossing the road, a state senator says, citing examples of distracted pedestrians walking into vehicles and even fountains.

A Bill introduced by state Senator Carl Kruger would make it illegal to talk on phones, read Blackberrys, listen to iPods or use any other electronic device while crossing the street.

“You can’t be fully aware of your surroundings if you’re fiddling with a Blackberry, dialing a phone number, playing Super Mario Brothers on a Game Boy or listening to music on an iPod,” Mr Kruger said on his website.

He cited a rise in “accidents stemming from pedestrian distraction,” including the death of a 21-year-old man crushed by a Mack truck while listening on headphones to music and a woman “engrossed in conversation on her cell phone walking straight into a park fountain.”

Under the Bill, culprits would be fined $100.