What do you do when your city is infested by pedestrians who are engrossed in their phones while crossing the road or just walking on the sidewalk? Honolulu seems to have found a solution. The law makers in Hawaii’s capital city seem to have finally hit the nail right on the head after data showed that Honolulu was ranked the highest when it came to pedestrians getting injured while crossing a road or a highway while they were on their mobile devices. The city has now banned people from staring at their phones while walking in public

What is the ban all about?

Kirk Caldwell, the mayor of Honolulu, announced that by October 2017, any pedestrians who are found crossing a highway or a street while looking into a mobile screen or any electronic device will be penalized, Reuters reported.

The latest ban seems to be a strong message against the negligence caused by these devices while on the road. The ban will also help Honolulu to reduce the number of road accidents caused due to looking at the screen of a Mobile Device while walking on streets.

When was the bill passed and what does it state?

The bill was passed by a vote of 7-2 by the city council on Thursday, July 27, and will be enacted by October. The fine will vary from $15 to $35 if the person is found violating the law for the first time. For second-time offenders, a fine of $35 to $75 will be levied. The third violation could cost them as much as $99.

If one is found calling the emergency services, they will be spared and will not be penalized.

Law makers around major cities in the U.S. are facing the same issue and have tried various ways to get the pedestrians to stop looking at their mobile screens while walking on the street. This is the first time that a bill like this has been successfully passed and will soon be implemented.

This isn’t the first time that a state has tried to implement such a ban against pedestrians who are on their phones while walking on the street.

In 2016, an assembly woman in New Jersey proposed a bill which proposed that any pedestrian who was found walking on the street while texting would be penalized with $50 if they violate the law for the first time, and the persistent offenders would have to serve jail time. This bill did not receive even a single vote and was deemed too harsh a punishment for such a petty offense. VCNET commented that there are other cities which have simply given up and have installed lit-up signs which indicate to the pedestrians when it is safe for them to cross the road.