Texting while crossing a road - should you be fined?

Capt'n Midnight

Biggins wrote: »

Jaywalking is defined as recklessly crossing the road, and in the US is a traffic safety violation.

This has nothing to do with texting.

Jaywalking is something taken seriously in some parts of the US, and always has been. Germany is another place where people only cross the road at pedestrian crossings when the green man shows.


It's a matter of culture / enforcement.

When in Rome , be careful even if you have the green man

Wossack

thankfully this is a multiple choice poll, so I can vote to have them fined, and Biggins to be shoved under a bus

aaronjumper

I was almost hit by a car because I was busy flirting with some young one.
It was a stupid thing to do and I have since changed my ways.
I think it's a good idea.

The people on here that reckon this is an over reaction, in my opinion, should probably take an extra minute to think about this.
It's the equivalent to crossing the road with your eyes closed.
For those that would argue "sure you would hear the car coming" trust me, you wouldn't.

I am just glad the car had good brakes or they would have been scraping bits of my face off the windscreen.

aaronjumper

aaronjumper wrote: »

I was almost hit by a car because I was busy flirting with some young one.
It was a stupid thing to do and I have since changed my ways.
I think it's a good idea.

The people on here that reckon this is an over reaction, in my opinion, should probably take an extra minute to think about this.
It's the equivalent to crossing the road with your eyes closed.
For those that would argue "sure you would hear the car coming" trust me, you wouldn't.

I am just glad the car had good brakes or they would have been scraping bits of my face off the windscreen.

Was she worth it?
Nearly getting killed i mean.

aaronjumper

RVP 11 wrote: »

Was she worth it?
Nearly getting killed i mean.

Yes. She was

kincsem

Texting while crossing a road - should you be fined?

Fined, and the phone crushed.

aaronjumper

aaronjumper wrote: »

Yes. She was

Well i can understand that over someone texting their ma "dinner on ma? nearly home":D

Amirani

doovdela wrote: »

I think those on their ipods should be fined rather than those texting though that's more of a safety hazard in my opinion as you might get a false sense its ok to cross the road though you can see but can you hear a car suddenly come up near you?? I think a fine should apply to pedestrians and cyclists especially cyclists for those on their ipods crossing the road. They need their wits about them when on the road

Lets also ban radios in cars so, surely they're just as much of a distraction as iPods? Maybe passengers shouldn't be allowed in cars either in case a conversation ensues, as having a conversation with somebody is far more distracting than listening to music. Sure drivers "need their wits about them when on the road".

starlit

NiallSparky wrote: »

Lets also ban radios in cars so, surely they're just as much of a distraction as iPods? Maybe passengers shouldn't be allowed in cars either in case a conversation ensues, as having a conversation with somebody is far more distracting than listening to music. Sure drivers "need their wits about them when on the road".

I mainly focusing on pedestrians and cyclists. Yes radios are distractions but you can minimize that distraction compared to an ipod your in the moment kind of thing and not aware of what's happening around you as much as when driving a car, a car yes you need a lot of concentration but still think ipods are more hazardous than radios. Yes a conversation can be a distraction, just a matter of minimizing that distraction. Yes all drivers need their wits about them when they're driving not just pedestrians and cyclists alike!

Capt'n Midnight

NiallSparky wrote: »

Lets also ban radios in cars so, surely they're just as much of a distraction as iPods? Maybe passengers shouldn't be allowed in cars either in case a conversation ensues, as having a conversation with somebody is far more distracting than listening to music. Sure drivers "need their wits about them when on the road".

Instead let's remove soundproofing from cars and set a maximum volume level on the radio.

If you are ever awoken by sirens remember they are only that loud because motorists are cocooned in a soundproof box. There is no point in cyclists or pedestrians using bells or shouting, it just won't be heard.

Bad Panda

No.

This is bloody ridiculous. Surely we can make people aware of the dangers without having to fine people.

Sure let's fine people for not looking left, right and left again!

The people who said yes are a bunch of fcukin' idiots imo.

drumlover22

languagenerd wrote: »

I don't think we should start with texting, tbh, there are a lot of people who cross road very dangerously without a mobile phone and I think these cause more accidents!

I'd rather some sort of more general legislation along the lines of "dangerously crossing a road" and/or "causing an accident". Texting while crossing could be included in this definition (if it was indeed dangerous, because some people can text without looking at the phone) without being a separate thing, because as others have pointed out, there are lots of other distractions and we could never prohibit all of them.

There's a particular corner on the quays coming onto O'Connell Bridge in Dublin that I hate crossing, and I have no idea how more accidents don't happen there. The lights for the cars going straight ahead go red for a few seconds, then the cars coming around the corner (going left) start moving. But, without fail, people always start crossing between the two sets of cars (a space of about 5 seconds) and then there's a bus trying to pass through a crowd of pedestrians who keep crossing. All the while the pedestrian lights are counting down from 40sec and everyone ignores them. I mightn't be explaining it very well, but if anyone else knows the corner, I'm sure they'll have seen this too. I've seen several near-misses there every day!

So I think the above people ^, as well as people who dash across several lanes of moving traffic or people who just strut out and expect cars to stop should be fined, whether they have a phone or not! It's ok for everyone to say that it's their own fault if they get hit, but they could cause someone else serious injury by doing it (if the driver swerved, etc.)

Are you on about the junction between Westmoreland St. and Aston Quay? It's amazing how more people haven't been hit there! How they think getting somewhere 30 seconds quicker is worth possibly getting hit by a bus is mindblowing!

Leave the pedestrians alone! We need to revert back to the days when a man with a flag walked in front of vehicles to warn the pedestrians the vehicle was coming.

Dravokivich

The main thing to take into account with that article, is that Jaywalking is an offence actively persued by the Police in the USA. It is not an offence actively pursued by the Gardaí here.

Personally I think anyone who acts with a lack of awaerness to other road users resulting in a risk to themselves or others should have some sort of book thrown at them. But that'll never happen here.

TwoShedsJackson

drumlover22 wrote: »

Are you on about the junction between Westmoreland St. and Aston Quay? It's amazing how more people haven't been hit there! How they think getting somewhere 30 seconds quicker is worth possibly getting hit by a bus is mindblowing!

I see people flinging themselves across the quays on both sides of the Millenium Bridge every day. I'm stood there thinking 'I'm on my way in to work, do I feel the need to risk death/serious injury to get to work 15 seconds sooner?'

Somehow the answer is always no.

aaronjumper

Bad Panda wrote: »

No.

This is bloody ridiculous. Surely we can make people aware of the dangers without having to fine people.

Sure let's fine people for not looking left, right and left again!

The people who said yes are a bunch of fcukin' idiots imo.

I'd rather a fine than get a slap of a car. If emptying peoples pockets makes them pay attention, then how bad.

Fines, penalty points etc. seem to be the only reason people obey the speed limit nowadays (generally, I know plenty of people still put the foot down) not because of danger to themselves or others but because they could lose their license or have to shell out much needed cash.

languagenerd

drumlover22 wrote: »

Are you on about the junction between Westmoreland St. and Aston Quay? It's amazing how more people haven't been hit there! How they think getting somewhere 30 seconds quicker is worth possibly getting hit by a bus is mindblowing!

Yeah, that's the one! It's ridiculous how many people just cross when they feel like it, it seems to happen every single time the lights change! There was a counter added to the lights (a red light that counts down from 40) so that people could see that they needed to wait another 40 seconds - but at least half the people there at any given time ignore it. I think bus drivers have just accepted it at this stage and go slower there... but you'd want to have your wits about you driving around that corner.

I think those people are far more likely to cause an accident than texters, tbh.