HONOLULU (AP) — Of all the beautiful scenery to see in Honolulu, officials want to make sure residents and tourists get a good look at the street.
Honolulu this week became the largest city in the U.S. to make it illegal for people to look at cellphones, tablets or video games while crossing a road or highway. It comes as a few states still have not outlawed texting while driving.
It remains to be seen how the law can be enforced on an island that draws tourists from across the globe. The tourism industry is trying to educate visitors, but a smattering of tourists interviewed Wednesday — the day the law took effect — said they had no clue.
Amy Pawlowski, who was visiting from Phoenix, had not heard about the new restrictions on mobile devices.
“It seems as though the enforcement aspect would be quite difficult and almost that the government efforts would be better spent with the law prohibiting drivers from being on their phones while driving,” she said just after glancing at her phone while crossing a Waikiki street. “Perhaps they (pedestrians) are using a navigation device that is helping them navigate Waikiki or Honolulu.”
The law applies to the entire island of Oahu, where it is also illegal to drive while using handheld mobile electronics. A first offense for the distracted walking ordinance carries a fine of between $15 and $35. It increases to between $75 and $99 for a third offense within a year of the first violation.
Officers in tourist-heavy Honolulu have discretion to issue a warning or a ticket, police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said.
“We realize not everyone is going to know,” she said. “Local laws could vary.”
The National Safety Council, which has been looking at the issue of distracted walking since 2015, praised Honolulu for being a leader on the issue. The small Idaho city of Rexburg passed an ordinance in 2011 making it illegal to text while driving or crossing a street or highway. Other cities have considered similar measures, said Tatyana Warrick, a council spokeswoman.
The ordinance aims to reduce the number of injuries after the state ranked as the 13th most dangerous for pedestrians from 2010 to 2014, said Honolulu Councilman Brandon Elefante, who wrote the measure.
Elefante said he pushed the measure partly because a high school in his district with nearly 2,500 students is on a busy highway. Students at Waipahu High School did a survey and found 1,000 classmates in a 20-minute period jaywalked, crossed against traffic lights and used electronic devices while crossing, he said.
The law went into effect 90 days after the mayor signed it in July. During the 90 days, police say they have passed out informational fliers across the island.
Jim Cartisser, a tourist from Twin Falls, Idaho, said getting a ticket while on vacation “could leave a lot of people with a sour taste in their mouth leaving Honolulu.”
One ticket and I would get on the interstate and drive home.
It makes sense – except I think that we would be far better served with basic application of legal responsibility. The basic state traffic laws typically require that anyone using the roads (even pedestrians – and even cyclists!) perform in a safe manner. If they didn’t add all these specific laws, with specific penalties, police and judges can do a far better job of determining level of infraction and a penalty that will lead to correcting the behavior rather than profiting from it.
Good luck with that happening though.
” but a smattering of tourists interviewed Wednesday — the day the law took effect — said they had no clue.”
Let the smattering of splattering begin.
Spend thousands of dollars and fly to an island with beautiful scenery, and stare at your phone.
Whew! Thank gawd that’s finally taken care of. Maybe now the can do something about homeless drug addicts, Obama supporters using streets as toilets, pan handlers, muggers, the smell of vomit everywhere, drunks passed out on sidewalks, burglaries, purse snatching, vandalism, graffiti, and gang bangers. Hey, Governor Ige. If these people bother you, send them to Portland. They’d be welcomed, supported, would fit right in, and can run for public office and will probably win.
better that the police give you a ticket for being stupid while walking than to have to tell your family you died for being stupid while walking. same goes with stupid people that drive and text or talk on a phone-get a hands free blue-tooth gizmo or turn that dam thing off while driving– your not that important that someone can’t call you back or leave a message so you can call them back..Live to see another day…
Why can’t they just let Natural Selection do its thing?
Your Beach photo is reversed?
I’m with TN Tuxedo on this. How are we supposed to keep the gene pool clean if we legislate in a manner that protects the stupid from themselves?
Why not pass a law requiring people to use common sense?
Oh, wait – that way, sooner or later, everybody would be in jail.
Never mind.
Soybean
There have been for decades many thing that “…have left a bad taste in the mouths of tourists…”and you listed a few. Well done.
Tourism has been on the decline for decades. almost like NFL watching the last three (3) years.