Some communities are fining for doing it (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-15/texting-while-walking-illegal/54979480/1), while others are banning it(http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/05/texting-while-walking-banned-in-new-jersey-town/). What are they fining and banning? Texting while walking.
We’ve all seen it, and if I had to guess, I’d say the majority of us have done it as well. What many of us don’t realize is that it is dangerous. People have been so caught up in their phone and texting they have walked into other people, fallen into fountains and even died. Watch this story from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500202_162-7265096.html
What are your thoughts? Have you been guilty of this? What are your thoughts about fining those caught texting & walking? What about banning it all together? Is banning it the answer? What public relations tactics can be used to alert the public of this problem?
Honestly, I am totally guilty of texting while walking. But thankfully I have never walked into a ditch or wall (because I am totally terrified of doing it so I make a point to look round me). I think banning or fining people because they are texting and walking is a little over kill. How can you determine if someone is actually texting versus checking there Facebook? There is no way to regulate it. And if a cop tried to give me a ticket because I wanted to post a photo to Instagram I would be more than angry. The fact of the matter is that people have the right to do what they want, even if that means they want to do stupid things. In my opinion it would be a waste of time for our judicial system. People die every day doing the dumbest things (just watch A 1,000 ways to die on Spike Tv and you’ll understand). As far as the PR goes, I would try to take it in another direction other than banning texting while walking. I would go for a campaign that tried to promote awareness. Be aware of your surroundings or you could end up in a ditch. I would also try to add some humor to it, because to me I think it is slightly funny (but sad at the same time). Major corporations can use humor in a serious topic and make it work really well. Check out the Allstate Mayhem commercials, they are hilarious but are about serious topics. What do you guys think?
BTW here’s my favorite Allstate Mayhem commercial
ggonzalez33 
I agree people should be able to self regulate themselves and there is no way to determine what exactly the “perp” is doing on their phone.
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Hahaha! I love how you referenced 1000 Ways to Day. The government shouldn’t punish society for those few who decide to be stupid.
I agree with you, attempting to fine people for texting while walking is way over kill, and there would be a lot of angry people out there if they did. There really is no telling what people are doing on their phones while they are walking, so really, regulating this would be almost impossible.
I agree with you that the judicial system has better things to do. If someone can safely text and walk, they shouldn’t get a ticket. Sure, if someone is knocking grandmas over and bumping children out into the street, give them a ticket for recklessness or endangerment, but if you can manage to text and walk, I don’t see any harm done. People need to learn to practice awareness and not be ignorant and act responsibly. Sadly, stupidity and carelessness are the cause for many problems, but it doesn’t mean you should write a ticket for everything.
Overkill is definitely what fining would be. The resources used to implement such violations would be unneccessary.I agree there are other ways to get the public aware without punishing the whole population. BTW, love the commercial!
You make a great point by bringing up the strain this kind of legislation would place on our already overloaded judicial system. I understand that the people behind this want to protect others, but some times you just have to loosen the reigns and let people make mistakes and learn from them.
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