Filed under: iPod Family
Welcome to Brooklyn -- now turn off that iPod
If a state senator from my home borough has his way, New York City and Buffalo police officers might soon be telling iPod users "Fuggeddaboutit!" if they try to cross the street while listening to music. Sen. Carl Kruger of Brooklyn, in response to two recent pedestrian deaths, has proposed legislation that would make iPod-crossing a minor offense comparable to jaywalking.I'm a native New Yorker -- when I was a kid, we lived right across the street from a police station -- and I have never, ever seen anybody ticketed for jaywalking, so I'm thinking that even if this proposal were to become law the day-to-day impact would be unnoticeable. Of course, we do have an iPod Zombie problem in the Big Apple, but it's generalized to all sorts of portable devices. I once grabbed a guy who was about to walk in front of a delivery truck while he was focused, head down, on dialing his RAZR; he actually thanked me, another NYC rarity.
Perhaps, instead of criminalizing stupidity (which rarely works), a targeted PR campaign on the subways could remind iPod users to "turn down & tune in" while they navigate the mean streets. Anyone want to design the poster? Link it in the comments or post on Flickr, give it a Creative Commons license and tag it 'turndowntunein' -- if there are a few that stand out, I'll try to get them noticed by NYC officials.
Thanks Mitch!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mitch said 10:26AM on 2-07-2007
the way laws are going these days this will pass. Example: 1) No Cellphones in theathers and 2) Transfat ban in NYC.
What is this police state...errr..world coming to?
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svds said 10:38AM on 2-07-2007
Keep it simple, that way people will get the message. :-)
http://flickr.com/photos/svds/382782833/
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The Amazing Rando said 10:41AM on 2-07-2007
This same sort of silliness happened with the Sony Walkman in the '80s, and probably with transistor radios, too. Some bozo would step in front of a moving bus and suddenly there would be calls for anti-portable-audio legislation. The local news ghouls chewed on the non-story like some dog with a bone for a couple of days and that was the end of it. There's always do-gooder clowns who thinks they know what's best for the rest of us.
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Mike R. said 10:44AM on 2-07-2007
SVDS -- great start!
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Brady J. Frey said 12:01PM on 2-07-2007
Ridiculous law - it's up there with seat belts and the like, a victimless crime. While I'd never want someone to hurt themselves, it's their body and their right to make that choice... now, if the arguement can be made that they endanger other people's lives (possibly disrupting traffic or endangering a driver), then I can see the legal grounds.
It's commonplace in our american history through: at one time they tried to ban wiper blades because they 'distracted' drivers, and radios for the same reason. The difference being atleast they were in a car and driving is a benefit not a god given right - a benefit that can endanger other people. Walking yourself into oblivion is your own business, and a social concern for people to talk and care about other people as human beings, not a legal concern that needs fines, courts, or jail time.
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paul said 12:14PM on 2-07-2007
i dispise laws that were brought up to "protect us from ourselves" if people want to listen to their ipods rather than looking both ways and paying attention to inevitable new york traffic let them. If they want to eat trans fats LET THEM. what about natural selection (i.e darwin).
only little babies need to be protected from themselves. we have to have some more personal responsibility in this world, and less legislation.
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ryan said 1:07PM on 2-07-2007
Eh. Let em' get hit, thins out the stupids.
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Sam G. said 1:10PM on 2-07-2007
Having once lived in Kruger's district here in Brooklyn, this is just the sort of nonsense that I would expect from him.
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Bryan said 1:52PM on 2-07-2007
I hear Seattle is notorious for ticketing jaywalkers, maybe they would do the same if they had an iPod crossing law.
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Brian said 2:00PM on 2-07-2007
I live in Brooklyn and haven't heard this one, but it reminds me of the time back when Giuliani started a program to ticket people for jaywalking. It was met with universal scorn, because if you live in NYC, believe me, you've jaywalked. It was all a big joke until the cops (grudgingly, it must be said in their defense) started enforcing it. It was yet another one of those Rudy braincramps that isn't mentioned in the official biographies of this so-called hero of 9/11. It was actually a revenue-raising trick that RG thought would painlessly fill city coffers and keep him from having to raise taxes.
Maybe someone should tell this guy that Steve's boys have already tried a software solution to this problem, which everyone has similarly laughed at.
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Daniel said 2:18PM on 2-07-2007
I got a jaywalking ticket in high school. sixty five bucks
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svds said 2:32PM on 2-07-2007
Just made another one for the fun of it!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/svds/382969134/
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David said 11:29PM on 2-07-2007
I'm a New Yorker and purchased my first Walkman in 1982 - I've been listening to music, crossing the street and chewing gum (at the same time!) for 25 years - I'm not dead yet....
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Stephen said 6:37PM on 2-12-2007
I know it's a little late, but here's my addition:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90858871@N00/388492443/
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Tony Bove said 3:33PM on 2-13-2007
Turn your cell phone off in Bronx, Brooklyn's iPods out of sight
Crazy taxi cab in Harlem, iPod Zombies are in fright
Peds love iPods they're so proud, but the volume is too loud!
Car 54 where are you?
(With apologies, based on the theme from the "Car 54 Where Are You?" TV show, 1961-63)
I don't mean to make light of a bad situation (pedestrians getting killed while crossing the streets of New York City), but the reaction of lawmakers can border on the ridiculous.
Stupidity should not be rewarded with laws that inhibit our personal liberties. Lawmakers and the police have better things to do with their time and our tax dollars.
Tony
Tony Bove's iTimes
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