People who use their cellphones while crossing the street could be cited and fined under a bill being considered by state legislators today.
The bill being considered by the House Transportation Committee would impose a penalty of $250 to pedestrians talking, texting or using any function on a mobile electronic device while crossing a street, road or highway. The money collected from fines would go to the state highway fund.
A similar bill was introduced in the City Council in 2011 and met with some opposition from the public. The Council bill went to committee and was never passed.
The House measure would include pedestrians in the law that prohibits drivers from even holding a cellphone while operating a vehicle.
Fourteen members of the House co-sponsored House Bill 2723, which will be heard at 10 a.m. in Room 309 of the state Capitol.
Rep. Sharon Har, one of the bill’s lawmakers, who introduced the bill, said its purpose is to help prevent pedestrian fatalities. An analysis of federal traffic fatality data from 2010 to 2014 ranked Hawaii as the 15th most dangerous state for pedestrians.
The statistics are even worse for senior citizens. Hawaii led all states during that four-year period with a fatality rate of 4.3 per 100,000 people ages 65 and older, and 5.5 per 100,000 for ages 75 and older, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“This is to ensure that our pedestrians are focused and are aware when they cross the street,” said Har (D, Kapolei-Makakilo). “Overall in the state of Hawaii, people assume that you are safe whenever you’re in a crosswalk. Theoretically that should be so; unfortunately, that’s not the reality.
“Unfortunately, many drivers don’t watch the crosswalk while driving, increasing the amount of fatalities in the state. At the end of the day, what this bill is about is to get Hawaii out of the top rankings of pedestrian fatality.”
Aven Santiago, a 22-year-old student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said in his case a cellphone ban would be an annoyance.
“If I’m crossing the street talking on my phone or using my GPS, I don’t want to have to worry about being fined,” he said. “I feel like I’m responsible enough to cross the street using my phone. When someone is crossing the street in general, they pretty much look both ways before crossing. We’re taught that as little kids.”
Brien Ing, 40, of Hawaii Kai, said while he does not disapprove of the measure, he has concerns on how it would be enforced.
“It would be interesting to see how that would come about in terms of deployment,” he said. “If that means you have to have police or another presence look out for that, it takes up manpower and seems like we’re chasing the wrong rabbit.”
