There is trouble in paradise, and it is all because of a smartphone-fueled regression into stupidity. In a bid to try and prevent people from staring at their phones while crossing the road, the Hawaiian city of Honolulu has started fining people up to $99. First offenders will have to pony up $35, but second and third offenses shoot up to $75 and $99, respectively.
It isn’t just mobile phones in their crosshairs, either. As the bill states:
“No pedestrian shall cross a street or highway while viewing a mobile electronic device…text messaging device, paging device, personal digital assistant, laptop computer, video game, or digital photographic device.”
You can listen to music and you can even talk on your phone, but you must not look at any type of screen when you’re crossing the road. There are some exceptions, such as emergency workers checking on calls they’ve received; but Facebook is out of the question, and don’t even think about Twitter.
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How would you feel if somebody fined you $35 for reading a text message? Let us know in the comments.
