”Smartphone zombies”, they are called – people who walk the streets with their heads bent down to their smartphone screens, unaware of their environment. They are prone to walking into other people or objects on their way, sometimes saying ”Excuse me” before going back to whatever their smartphone’s screens offer them at the moment. These zombies are more and more often the cause of traffic accidents, especially when they walk the crosswalk without looking around – after all, why waste valuable time when they can instead gawk at their 5.5′ screen for a second longer, right? Well, officials from one place in the US have had enough of these accidents and have now banned usage of mobile devices when crossing the street.

The town in question is Honolulu, capital of the US state of Hawaii, known for its volcanoes, flower garlands and hula dancers. Honolulu’s officials have just passed the law that made it illegal for pedestrians to cross the street while viewing any kind of ”mobile electronic device” – a vide term which includes smartphones, handheld consoles, tablets etc. You are allowed to use the device, yes, but only as long as you do not look at it. It is a somewhat specific interdict which may be the cause of a few interesting court cases in the future. Or maybe it won’t, especially since fines for breaking the new law are not very steep – they can wary from $15 to $100.

What do you think? Personally I am in favour of the law. The less stupid people kill themselves, the less paperwork there is for public services to do. Maybe getting fined once or twice will change people’s minds about using these fancy smartphones while on foot.