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It's Now Illegal To Look At Your Phone While Crossing The Road In Honolulu

The 'Distracted Walking Law' was passed in July but has just come into force.

Honolulu has become one of the first cities in the world to ban pedestrians from looking at their mobile devices while crossing the street.

Mobile-obsessed walkers caught violating the Hawaiian capital's new law can expect a fine from $15-35 (A$19-45), while second-time offenders caught within a year of their first offence the fine creeps to between $35-75 (A$45-97).

Repeat offenders can expect to cop up to $99 (A$128).

The 'Distracted Walking Law' , which came into effect on Wednesday, was first passed by the City of Honolulu this July in an attempt to reduce injuries and deaths caused by distracted walkers.

Quick, somebody better tell this bloke before he cops a fine.
EUGENE TANNER via Getty Images
Quick, somebody better tell this bloke before he cops a fine.

"Pedestrians and drivers using cell phones are both impaired and too mentally distracted to fully focus on their surroundings. For pedestrians, the distraction can cause them to trip, cross roads unsafely or walk into motionless objects such as street signs, doors or walls," the U.S. National Safety Council has previously stated.

While Honolulu might be the first to introduce such a ban, there's no denying that we're quickly becoming a society that is constantly glued to our mobile devices.

Just check out this guy who almost walked into a bear while texting:

HuffPost Australia previously reported that close to 60 percent of blind pedestrians in Australia who were bumped into while using their white cane said that the incidents were caused by walkers distracted by their devices.

Following a surge of pedestrian deaths in 2016, the cities of Sydney and Melbourne introduced in-ground lights have been installed at busy intersections to stop mobile-phone zombies from walking into oncoming traffic.

New lights have been installed in the road and footpath so that people distracted by their phones (i.e. the woman on the left) know not to walk.
FAIRFAX / STEVEN SIEWERT
New lights have been installed in the road and footpath so that people distracted by their phones (i.e. the woman on the left) know not to walk.

After the deaths of 4500 pedestrians in traffic crashes, the Road Safety Authority of Paris created a 'Virtual Crash Billboard' in an attempt to get Parisians to be more vigilant while crossing the street.

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