14 DAY TRIAL // The use of mobile phones while driving is widely considered dangerous and many countries have enacted laws to ban handheld cellphone use for drivers due to the high number of accidents that are related to this habit.
However, texting or talking on the phone while walking on the street may also result in serious accidents because people are not paying attention to what happens around them anymore, so Taiwan’s legislators have decided to up the ante and have recently proposed a law to fine those who use their smartphones while crossing the street.
Officials motivate their decision by saying that people are constantly putting themselves at risk of being hit by cars because they do not pay attention while walking. Mobile phones often distract pedestrians, and that can cause incidents in which people bump into others, hurt them or even cause traffic jams, lawmakers say.
According to Kotaku, in March, a young woman died after being involved in an accident caused by her own negligence. She was reportedly using her cellphone while crossing the street and was hit by an oncoming taxi cab.
If the new law is passed, pedestrians deemed “distracted” will be fined with $10 (€7.2) for each infraction, which is rather low to be considered a deterrent in my opinion.
Legislators say that a “distracted pedestrian” will be defined as someone who looks at their smartphone’s screen – for texting, gaming, or web surfing – instead of watching their steps while crossing the street.
A similar traffic bill was proposed in New Jersey in 2012 after a rise in jaywalking incidents, but failed to pass.
The same source informs that currently there are more than 14,000,000 mobile internet users in Taiwan, and the fact that many of them use their smartphones excessively, even when they are on the streets, has supposedly led to various distraction-related accidents.
That’s why legislators in the country have come up with a new law to ban mobile phone use while walking and fine inattentive walkers.
Local newspaper Apple Daily has conducted a survey to find out regular people’s opinion about the proposed law, and they have found that 80% of them consider the fine necessary.
Although on Facebook people's reactions were mixed, many think the law should be approved.
“I think there should be a fine. When we were little, teachers told us to be careful when crossing. No point in not being careful when we're adults. Looking at your smartphone while walking is very dangerous,” one user commented.