Streets and technology are not necessarily a good mix

Especially if you live in the jurisdiction of the State of New York, this information will interest you. But even if you don't, it's still worth to keep reading.
A report that appeared today in Yahoo news says that New York State Senator Carl Kruger is promoting a legislation through which pedestrians who cross the streets distracted with an electronic device will face a $100 dollar fine. This because, according to Kruger, three pedestrians have been killed in his jurisdiction since last September; all of them were crossing the street but keeping more attention on their electronic devices than in the incoming traffic.
Some of the gadgets that appear to distract more people when crossing streets are iPods, cellphones, videogames and Blackberries (and coming soon, useful iPhones).
If you feel identified with this kind of behaviour, perhaps you should keep in mind any of the following recommendations:

• Don't listen to your iPod (or whatever portable sound device you own) at very loud volumes. Increasing the volume does not boost excitement, but it does distract you from outter stimuli easily.
• If walking on the street, be aware of the distance you have left to reach the limit of the sidewalk. When you're distracted with a device such a videogame or a Blackberry, you sometimes lose accuracy in that notion.
• Beat the temptation of sending SMS messages anytime, anywhere. Choose a certain appropriate time to send/answer SMS messages. Doing it when walking in the streets is not a good idea.
• Don't trust on other people's movements! If you're one of those persons who don't see the pedestrian lights and prefer to cross the streets trusting the movements of other pedestrians, you should change that habit. It's better to be fully concentrated when crossing streets; pause your game or type your email after you've safely crossed the street.

And remember: If you live in New York and you love your loud iPod, the next fined person could be you!

To read the original report on Yahoo News, click here.