iPod thrills but also "Kills", Senator urges to ban iPod from NY crosswalks

The use of an iPod while crossing a street in major New York cities may put pedestrians, joggers and bicyclists, who blithely cross the street while listening to the revolutionary music player, into legal troubles, as one lawmaker has proposed a legislation that would ban people from going mobile with their media.

Under the new legislation introduced by the State Senator Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) the offenders would be slapped with a $100 fine if they use their iPod, cell phone or other PDA while crossing a city street.

"You can't be fully aware of your surroundings if you're fiddling with a BlackBerry, dialing a phone number, playing 'Super Mario Brothers' on a Game Boy or listening to music on an iPod," Sen. Kruger said.

Kruger's plan to file the legislation to make the use of the iPod, the BlackBerry or any other handheld illegal stemmed from the recent fatal accidents, related to music players, occurred in his Brooklyn district.

Kruger said three pedestrians listening to music players were killed while crossing streets in Brooklyn and Manhattan. "All three were fatally injured. In one case people, were screaming at the person to watch out, but the person couldn't hear them because iPod [headphones] were in the person's ears," he said.

The Brooklyn state senator said the legislation is intended to save lives. Kruger was due to introduce legislation on Wednesday. In a telephone interview from the state capital Albany, Kruger said that every government has some legal responsibilities to protect its people.

Kruger's proposed bill would also make the use of cell phones, Blackberries, video games or other electronic devices illegal while crossing the street.

According to a reporter who watched people using the electronic gadgets while crossing roads, between 4:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. Wednesday there were more than 144 people who were crossing W. 34th Street and Seventh Avenue while talking on the phone, wearing headphones, texting or BlackBerrying.

After listening about the proposed bill, Manhattan store manager Joshua Franks, 34, of the Upper East Side, who was crossing while phoning, said, "One hundred dollars? You're kidding me. I would be bankrupt in a week."

This is not the first time New York imposing ban on handheld devices, instead in 2001, it was the first state to adopt a ban on mobile phone use while driving.

The news is really distressful for iPod maker Apple, which has signed a fruitful partnership with Nike to provide joggers with the famous Nike+iPod Sports Kit.

The bill reportedly would only apply to big cities in the state.