Talking on cell phones, listening to iPods and conversing with friends while crossing streets put students and citizens at risk. Although, Madison officials do not want to make any laws against pedestrian's lackadaisical walking habits.
According to UW-Madison police officer Kari Sasso, very few pedestrians are ticketed for careless street crossing. Still, Sasso acknowledged that she frequently sees students using cell phones and iPods nearly get into accidents.
Accidents involving the use of electronic devices are relatively common, according to UW-Madison freshmen Mallory Wagman, who said she often crosses streets without paying attention to the orange ""do not walk"" hand.
""I have a friend who was in a serious accident because she was talking to her friend while crossing the street,"" Wagman said. ""I walk around downtown Madison all the time with my iPod or text messaging on my cell phone. You never really give the dangers a second thought.""
According to Mike Hanson, Madison Police Department spokesperson, it was discovered that the victim of the Feb. 12 accident near Memorial Union, who was struck by a drunk driver, was talking on her cell phone as she crossed the street—something he said does not put any fault on her but is worth thinking about.
Yet, inattentiveness is not the only problem in Madison. In New York, state Sen. Carl Kruger, D-Brooklyn, proposed banning the use of certain electronic devices—iPods, cell phones and PDAs—while crossing the street.
However, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said a proposal like Kruger's is unlikely in Madison. He said if the issue of banning iPods and cell phones were to arise in Wisconsin, he would reject the idea completely because it exceeds the limits for which a government should place control over the people.
""If anybody proposed similar legislation to the one in New York it would not get support here in city hall,"" Verveer said.
Verveer also said that pedestrians must use common sense when walking through busy intersections.
""Potential does exist for pedestrians to be distracted but I think a law banning the use of certain electronic devices while walking goes too far,"" Verveer said. ""I did not support legislation five years ago that proposed banning cell phone use while driving and I won't support anything like this now.""
Wagman said she would oppose any legislation that would restrict the use of electronic devices while walking across the street.
""I think that legislation on that issue is too extreme,"" she said. ""Even if they do ban it, accidents will likely still happen.""
