A bill proposed this past week by New Jersey state assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt would impose a fine of up to $US50 and possibly 15 days' jail for pedestrians caught using their mobile phones without hands-free devices while walking on public footpaths and across roads.
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If the bill becomes law, people who text while walking would face the same penalties as jaywalkers.
"I see it every single day," Ms Lampitt said. "Maybe they will think twice about it."
A report released in 2015 by the Governors Highway Safety Association found an increase in pedestrian fatalities, and cited texting while walking as partly to blame.
Since 2009, pedestrian fatalities have increased by 15 per cent, to 4735, in 2013, the report said. Nearly 2 million pedestrian injuries were related to mobile phone use, the report said.
Another study, from Safe Kids Worldwide, a Washington-based nonprofit organisation, found that 40 per cent of teenagerss said they had been hit or nearly hit by a car, bike or motorcycle while walking.
Philadelphia Inquirer