Wednesday, February 07, 2007

New York may ban daydreaming while crossing the street

Well, not quite. But close: Jo just showed this article about a new law proposed in New York that would ban cellphone and iPod use while crossing the street. If that happens, I guarantee every New Yorker will walk around the street while simultaneously eating Tasti-d-Lite, drinking coffee, and reading a book. Point is--it's very, very boring to walk around the city, if it's a route you take every day, especially if that route happens to include, say, Midtown. Yes, being distracted while walking around leads occasionally to people getting hit by cars, but imagine actually paying full attention to your surroundings! You have to strike a balance, and the libertarian in me is not pleased by this development in the least.

2 comments:

Scott Lemieux said...

Exactly right. I remember an unfogged discussion thread where someone was complaining about people wearing I-Pods outside and not absorbing their backgrounds; I'm betting all of them own cars.

Anonymous said...

FYI