美小镇将对走路发短信者罚款

美国新泽西州的利堡小镇警方近期宣布，凡在该地区发现边走路边发短信的行人，将一律罚款85美元。利堡警察局局长表示，走路时发短信会让行人分神而不注意看路，以至于他们根本不知道自己在往哪走，但是很多人都意识不到这一点。这位局长指出，今年该地区已经发生三起行人死亡事故，他希望罚款措施能够提高人们的安全意识。不过当地有不少人都对这一措施表示不解，有人表示自己走路发短信时也会注意看路，而有人则表示85美元的罚金太高。据悉，到目前为止，当地警方已经开出117个走路发短信的罚单。

Avid texters beware: Fort Lee, N.J. police said they will begin issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to pedestrians who are caught texting while walking.

"It's a big distraction. Pedestrians aren't watching where they are going and they are not aware," said Thomas Ripoli, chief of the Fort Lee Police Department.

Ripoli said the borough, which is home to approximately 35,000 residents, has suffered three fatal pedestrian-involved accidents this year. He hopes his crackdown on people who display dangerous behavior while walking will make his town safer, but not everyone is on board with the idea of issuing $85 tickets.

"When I walk I still look around. I'm not like constantly looking down the whole time," said resident Sue Choe.

Another woman complained about the tickets were "a lot of money."

Officers handed out pamphlets during a short grace period in March before they began aggressively going after "dangerous walkers."

More than 117 tickets have been issued, according to the New Jersey Record.

Two professors at Stony Brook University in New York conducted a study on walking and texting. They found texters are 60 percent more likely to veer off line than non-texters.

"We want to raise awareness that a real disruption occurs because of texting," Eric Lamberg, co-author of the study, told Long Island Business News. "Texting disrupts your ability much more than does talking."