Transcript
Pedestrians in Honolulu will need to avoid walking and crossing the street while looking at a mobile device, as it will soon carry a fine.
Brandon Elefante's the city councillor who's promoted the new law and he's hoping the international publicity will mean people don't break the rules.
"I think that when people come and visit here, they'll have an awareness of that and at the end of the day it is about educating people and warnings rather than giving fines. That is something that will be the last resort yet while in the law sometimes it may take a fine for someone to change their behaviour or habit."
He says the main aim of the city's new "distracted walking" law is safety but there have been criticisms.
"One its too much government over regulation. Two I've heard it's about fines as a cash cow hungry city and county and some people thought we don't need types of laws like this. However what I would say to that, is that while they are all significant concerns, and concerns too that we've considered, at the end of the day you are unable to really put a price on someone's life."
On his social media page, the mayor of Honolulu's Kirk Caldwell said it seems obvious not to cross roads while texting - but people still need to be told .
"It's about protecting people and reminding people to use common sense as they walk around this beautiful city so that they don't become another statistic or fatality or an injury."
Phone related distractions caused more than 11,000 injuries in the US between 2000 and 2011 and in 2015, the National Road Safety in the US recorded more than five and a half thousand pedestrians died that year after being struck by cars.
At a media conference, teacher Kel Hirohata explained how students at his school Waipahu High had become more aware of the dangers. .
"It started with my students at the safety club and they did campaigns that councillor member Elfante also attended and they did some study and the statistics that they found were eyeboggling in that students were just jaywalking and crossing against the light and also looking at their electronic devices."
Sixteen-year-old student Taylor Ann Fujimoto is a member of Waipahū High School's safety club who is happy the bill has become law.
"I think it was really important that it was passed because where our school is we are located by the freeway and there are cars coming off there really fast and students are crossing the street without looking up. It's just such a dangerous thing."
Ms Fujimoto said she got a lot of texts and messages of congratulations on her efforts to help Brandon Elefante pass the bill.
"I'm hoping with the school year starting around then that we can educate all the students on the new law."
The new law on distracted walking takes effect on October the 25th to allow time for people to be informed and for law enforcement officers to prepare.
