Honolulu Becomes First Major City In US To Ban Mobile Use At Crosswalks

In the last few years, several cities in America have tried to introduce various measures in order to discourage people from being too busily engaged with their mobile devices when crossing the street. Even states have attempted to propose legislation that would require mobile users to be more careful when they are out on the street. 

They might want to take a leaf from Honolulu’s page. The state capital of Hawaii has officially become the first big city in the entire United States to pass a law that imposes a fine to anyone spotted crossing the street while busy using their smartphone device. The law will be taking effect less than three months from now, specifically on October 25th of this year. 

The imposed fine can range from just $15 to just under a hundred bucks. The specific amount will vary depending on whether the mobile user caught red handed is a repeat offender or not. Of course, the law has one important exemption -- fines will not be imposed for mobile users calling emergency services. So if somebody needs to dial 911 while in the act of crossing the street to help somebody else in need, then they will not have to worry about paying any fine.

All well and good for Hawaii’s capital, but Honolulu actually has a legitimate reason for insisting on better street safety for its mobile users. According to a report recently published by Reuters, Kirk Caldwell, the mayor of Honolulu, has noted that the city happens to have the most occurrences of crosswalk impacts in the whole of America. As a matter of fact, in the time between 2000 and 2011, more than 11,000 crosswalk injuries that happened in Honolulu can be linked to mobile device use. This is a really high number, and it bears noting that this was until 2011, which means that the number of incidents in more recent years could be higher due to people’s increased usage of smartphone devices.

While the law is being applauded by some, there are others who are wondering if it is the right approach at all. They argue that instead of imposing a fine, it might be better to educate mobile users more when it comes to road safety and responsible mobile use. And then there is the issue of enforcement -- how will the police be able to keep track of every smartphone carrying pedestrian (which these days, basically means everybody on the street)?