NY likely to penalise pedestrians for texting

■ Sceptics fear the proposed law may heighten racial discrimination by cops

New Delhi, May 19: New York state’s Senate is considering a Bill banning texting while walking on the streets. It could attract a fine for reckless behaviour, news reports said.

If the Bill passes into law, it says, New Yorkers can expect to be fined from $25 to $250 if police catch them “using a portable electronic device while crossing a roadway”.

Some people would be exempted, including “an emergency response operator” and employees of a hospital, physician’s office or fire department, among others.

About 300 pedestrian fatalities occur annually in New York state. John Liu, the New York state senator who introduced the Bill, is determined to lower that figure significantly.

“[The Bill] does not say you can’t talk on the phone,” it quoted the senator

as saying. “We’re talking about handheld devices … you can wait the

five seconds to get to the other side.”

“It’s a terribly misguided bill,” Marco Conner, the interim executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a group committed to reclaiming the streets of New York City in favour of walking, biking and public transit, said. “Barely any data is being cited. Most traffic fatalities nationwide involve some kind of driver. It’s victim-blaming in disguise.”

He fears the law would heighten racial discrimination by police. “It’s a recipe for subjective and discretionary policing,” he said. Mr Liu cites many statutes where there is a possibility of selective enforcement and asserts he’ll be the first to concede that it's not going to be the priority of police.

"My intention is to help New Yorkers remember what they should do and what they should not do – wait the five seconds!” he said.