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'Distracted Walking' Could Come With $500 Fine in Chicago
NBC Chicago ^ | 11/8/2017 | Dick Johnson

Posted on 11/09/2017 10:47:43 AM PST by simpson96

A proposed "distracted walking" ordinance that could become law in Chicago would see pedestrians fined up to $500 for negligently strolling with their eyes fixed on a cellphone screen.

NBC 5 asked city strollers Wednesday night what they thought of the proposal. Some barely noticed a TV news crew let alone the traffic trying to turn.

"Well people do walk into traffic when they're not paying attention," one pedestrian told NBC 5 Wednesday night.

"Pedestrians are getting hurt more often---well if you cross when the light is red you should be good," another said.

But you're not according to aldermen Burke and Beale, co-sponsors of the new ordinance aimed at pedestrian safety.

Fines ranging from $90 to $500 are proposed for cell phone texting or talking in a crosswalk.

“No person shall cross a street or highway while using a mobile electronic device in a manner that averts their visual attention to that device or that device’s activity,” the proposed ordinance says.

On Chicago crosswalks, the aldermen say, injury and even death is on the rise related.

During the first six months of 2017, 27 pedestrians were killed on the streets of Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. A year prior, there were 28 deaths reported, according to the newspaper.

One man NBC 5 spoke with on a busy Chicago street who looked up from her cellphone offered a "good excuse."

"I'm a tourist from Germany, I just came in today," he said.

Told the ordinance wasn't a law just yet, he conceded that it "probably" should be.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcchicago.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS:
Everyone knows this is a money grab.

Murder Capital Chicago is not concerned with anyone's safety.

1 posted on 11/09/2017 10:47:44 AM PST by simpson96
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To: simpson96

Meaning you’d be fined for constantly looking around to see if you’d be mugged? Mugged by a fine maybe.


2 posted on 11/09/2017 10:53:43 AM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~)
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To: simpson96

3 posted on 11/09/2017 10:56:39 AM PST by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: simpson96
"I'm a tourist from Germany, I just came in today," he said. Told the ordinance wasn't a law just yet, he conceded that it "probably" should be.

When I go to Germany, I don't opine about their laws. The proper answer here is, "I'm a guest in your country and have no right to comment on your laws."

4 posted on 11/09/2017 10:56:58 AM PST by thesharkboy (Charter member of the Basket of Deplorables)
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To: simpson96

Oh nice, now they want to regulate potential stupidity. Isn’t communism grand!?


5 posted on 11/09/2017 10:57:07 AM PST by Jarhead9297
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To: simpson96

What else do lawmakers have to do besides make more laws? Maybe they should repeal these existing Chicago laws first:
1. It is illegal to bring your French Poodle to the opera.
2. It is illegal to eat inside a burning building.


6 posted on 11/09/2017 10:59:06 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: simpson96

“During the first six months of 2017, 27 pedestrians were killed on the streets of Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. A year prior, there were 28 deaths reported, according to the newspaper.”

Wow! Imagine that! Twenty-seven deaths walking into traffic while on the phone! That’s fewer than the number of shooting deaths that occur in a “normal weekend” in Chicago’s South Side! Chicago should be “so proud” of these Aldermen. Just think of all the bucks they will rake in from out of towners. Reminds me once again that I should never again visit Chicago for any reason whatsoever. On the list of America’s $hit hole cities, Chicago is at the top.


7 posted on 11/09/2017 11:02:59 AM PST by vette6387 (LOCK HER UP! COMEY TOO.)
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To: simpson96

Yep.
Bankrupt corrupt Chicago’s attempt to reap more funds.


8 posted on 11/09/2017 11:05:49 AM PST by CygnusXI
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To: simpson96

Over 600 homicides this year in Chicago, and the city wants to worry about distracted walkers.

Did Barney Fife transfer from Mayberry to Chicago?


9 posted on 11/09/2017 11:08:07 AM PST by CASchack
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To: simpson96

Oh my... why not a bazillion more laws that you will selectively enforce while ignoring the 800lb gorillas killing each other all around town...


10 posted on 11/09/2017 11:17:43 AM PST by Professional
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To: CygnusXI

That’s a logical assumption — that it’s nothing more than a money-grab -— but for that to work, citations have to be issued. Who’s going to do that? There are laws on the books in Chicago prohibiting cellphone use while driving, but no-one is enforcing that one either. When I walked around Chicago, it seemed that half of all drivers were texting or talking. I never once saw anyone pulled over and cited, but accidents due to “distracted driving” continue to be daily occurrances. Like many hastily-enacted laws and regulations, this is just for appearances. “We’ve got to do something! Think of the children!”


11 posted on 11/09/2017 11:23:14 AM PST by Blurb2350
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To: simpson96
= $500 fine.
12 posted on 11/09/2017 11:24:10 AM PST by Sopater (Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? - Matthew 20:15a)
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To: simpson96

In Phoenix, there have been several people killed by the light rail trains because they were on their cellphones. I remember one that walked in front of a train and another who fell off the platform in front of an arriving train. The idea wouldn’t be bad if the money from fines helped pay for counseling for the poor drivers who end up running over the idiots.


13 posted on 11/09/2017 11:34:36 AM PST by spaced
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To: simpson96
One man NBC 5 spoke with on a busy Chicago street who looked up from her cellphone offered a "good excuse."

What? A man looked up from her phone????

14 posted on 11/09/2017 11:42:44 AM PST by N. Theknow (Kennedys-Can't drive, can't ski, can't fly, can't skipper a boat-But they know what's best for you.)
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To: simpson96

Sure. What does this do to stop the street savages from killing each other, or from “playing” the knockout “game” on elderly Whites?


15 posted on 11/09/2017 11:58:18 AM PST by I want the USA back (Journalists Take Bits of Reality and Slot them into the Existing Script. -Friedman.)
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To: simpson96

Why not let natural selection just take its course?


16 posted on 11/09/2017 12:02:06 PM PST by pa_dweller (President Donald Trump, President Donald Trump. Because I know you like seeing it.)
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To: pa_dweller

Well, maybe because the phone drones can cause innocent bystanders to be killed or injured also with their recklessness?


17 posted on 11/09/2017 12:34:47 PM PST by Boogieman
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To: simpson96

It’s a money grab, got to pay for those unfunded pensions somehow. But it is also a tool of the state to criminalize everyone. Much easier to manipulate people if they can be charged for nearly everything a normal person does.


18 posted on 11/09/2017 1:29:16 PM PST by caseinpoint (Don't get thickly involved in thin things.)
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