If you thought texting while driving was dangerous, you might be surprised to find that some politicians believe you may be just as much of a threat to others if you text while walking.
One Nevada assemblyman has had enough, and wants to ban the habit in public.
Harvey Munford, a Democrat from Las Vegas, introduced Assembly Bill 123 on Thursday that mandates a law prohibiting pedestrians from text walking. According to The Los Angeles Times, the law could be applied to all state roads and even residential neighborhoods—not just busy intersections. First-time offenders of the texting while walking law would receive a warning, but third time offenders would receive a $250 fine, according to the proposal.
Mumford has been observing the behavior while driving for a while, and explained why he thinks the habit is particulary unsafe.
"I was just amazed by what I saw," he said, according to L.A. Times. "So many people are almost oblivious. They are texting and texting, totally unaware as they cross even six-lane highways."
He also noted that young people are the biggest offenders.
When kids get out of school, where they've been banned from using their cell phones all day, they go immediately to their texts," Munford explained. "I've seen several close calls myself where people have almost been hit. Kids are so addicted to those things. It's almost become a plague."
While Mumford certainly sounds a little extreme in his claims (really, a plague?), he isn't the first to try and enact a texting while walking penalty for unobservant pedestrains. Last year, New Jersey enacted a jaywalking ticketing policty that comes with an $85 penalty if the pedestrian was texting while walking across the intersection.
"It's a big distraction," explained Fort Lee, New Jersey Police Department Chief Thomas Ripoli, according to ABC News. "Pedestrians aren't watching where they are going and they are not aware."
Seattle is also reportedly considering a ban on texting while walking.
Texting while driving will cost you big time, but how do you feel about texting while walking? It is as big of a distraction and danger to others as texting while driving is? Let us know how you feel about the Nevada assemblyman's proposal and the dangers of texting while walking.