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Brooklyn State Senator Wants Ipod Ban

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 8 2007 7:00 PM

Submitted by legionnaire. Edited By legionnaire.

TAGS: Ipod, ban, New York,

Given the tumultuous political climate in which we're living, with a host of problems facing the nation, it's good to know that politicians are keeping their priorities in order and only spending their valuable time and taxpayer money tackling the major issues of the day. Like New York state senator Carl Kruger (D-NY) who represents part of Brooklyn, a New York City borough facing the challenges of gentrification, rising housing costs, pollution by ExxonMobil and a new stadium forcing out residents. Given all of these enormous issues to deal with Kruger has chosen one that clearly trumps them all; the menace of Ipods threatening pedestrian safety.

The senator said forcing pedestrians to face court and pay the fine would make them realise the "potentially deadly dangers that lurk outside the 'deceptive serenity' of your iPod".

"When they're tuning into their iPod or Blackberry or cell phone or video game, they're walking into speeding buses and moving automobiles," he said. "It's becoming a nationwide problem."

Mr Kruger says it was impossible for people to be aware of their surroundings when distracted by gadgets.

"Tuning in and tuning out can be a fatal combination on the streets of New York," he said.

The senator, who prides himself on his tough-on-crime policies, told Reuters news agency it was the government's responsibility to protect its citizens from a major "public safety crisis".

Kruger may or may not be aware of this already, but portable music listening devices have been commercially available and popular for almost thirty years. And despite the obvious dangers they pose to the citizenry of all cities, but a crowded one like New York City especially, the vast majority of pedestrians go through their day without being run over. Most states have made the operation of a motor vehicle while listening to headphones an illegal activity, and with good reason - a motorist who is willfully oblivious of his or her surroundings is a serious danger to public safety. A pedestrian listening to an Ipod, talking on a cellphone or otherwise tuning out the outside world is a danger as well, but only to himself or herself, and so bans on trans fats notwithstanding, it would appear to be beyond the purview of the state government to decide whether one can choose to act recklessly by preferring to listen to music rather than oncoming traffic. However, rulings elsewhere on issues like mandatory seatbelt laws, which are similar in theory in that they exist solely to protect individuals from themselves, have upheld the right of the state to make some decisions about safety for people, so a legal challenge (if the bill passes) could fail on ideological grounds.

In totally unrelated news, cigarette smoking remains completely legal in New York city.

29 Comments

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punk

Phoenix, AZ

January 2004

FEB 08, 2007 07:10 PM

I think we should let Darwinism do its work.

thefreak

NEWSWIRE

Gardner, MA

FEB 08, 2007 07:10 PM

Yeah, that'll happen.

-TM

ink_slinger

Edmonton, AB

October 2005

FEB 08, 2007 07:25 PM

I hate to be nit-picky (no I don't, I love it), but, well, this phrase makes no sense:

"Most states have made the operation of a motor vehicle while driving an illegal activity..."

Driving while driving is illegal? I know what you probably meant to say, but, yeah...

Dot

SUICIDEGIRL

I'm lost

FEB 08, 2007 07:31 PM

good thing i'm still rocking an old school discman

aleksa

Tacoma, WA

April 2006

FEB 08, 2007 07:35 PM

Maybe we should just ban walking.

itwashardlylovex

Orange, CA

January 2007

FEB 08, 2007 07:39 PM

ink_slinger said:
I hate to be nit-picky (no I don't, I love it), but, well, this phrase makes no sense:

"Most states have made the operation of a motor vehicle while driving an illegal activity..."

Driving while driving is illegal? I know what you probably meant to say, but, yeah...

+1

i was totally gonna say that

i hate the seatbelt law in california.
it's not the government's job to keep me from dying.
i just like to live risky.

travisja

Portland, OR

July 2002

FEB 08, 2007 07:55 PM

Typical politicians. It is so hard not to be cynical anymore. Our country is going further into debt each day, we are in a war that was falsely justified, our rights our getting stripped away and all this politician can focus on is ipods. What a joke.

Oh yeah... H.R. 393 Universal National Service Act of 2007 - January 18, 2007
H.R. 393 TO RE-INSTATE MILITARY DRAFT. Can you say Iran? Have fun boys and girls. Drafting all the way up to age 42. Go ahead and look it up. It is for real. Scary.

quagmirething

I'm lost

June 2005

FEB 08, 2007 08:26 PM

I'm not too fond of those seatbelt laws. As a pedestrian I long for a return to the days when a 10mph crash would leave a driver impaled on their steering column.

Punishing people for not looking after themselves is a little odd. It would nice if there was a way of opting out such laws.

chuba

New York, NY

May 2005

FEB 08, 2007 08:29 PM

They can't catch us all.

chuba

New York, NY

May 2005

FEB 08, 2007 08:30 PM

itwashardlylovex said:

+1

i was totally gonna say that

i hate the seatbelt law in california.
it's not the government's job to keep me from dying.
i just like to live risky.

Word,

I second your second of the motion.

As far as the issue is concerned, I live in Brooklyn and I just bought a new pair of headphones. At this point I will start a riot before I let the cops take my Ipod. Especially in a place where most of us spend two hours or more a day sitting on trains and buses just staring at one another. Now that I take moment to rant about it, lets also ban reading on the train. It's just as likely those "print and paperers", as we'll call them, are unnecessarily exposing themselves to dangerous paper cuts by holding the pages so close to their face on a locomotive vehicle in motion...while it's driving.

Darkotic

Houston, TX

October 2006

FEB 08, 2007 08:38 PM

punk said:
I think we should let Darwinism do its work.

lol dam right man, if they're gonna be stupid enough to do that shit in the first place, the world is better off without them.

malkav11

Saint Paul, MN

July 2003

FEB 08, 2007 08:54 PM

Now there's a law that's truly made to be broken.

BrightRedScream

Stoney Creek, ON

April 2005

FEB 08, 2007 08:56 PM

punk said:
I think we should let Darwinism do its work.

+1
If anyone is stupid enough to walk into traffic while playing a hand held video game, or can't handle listening to music and walking at the same time...Well, let's just say that Darwin will be in his grave cracking a smile.

spyder13

San Francisco, CA

October 2006

FEB 08, 2007 08:58 PM

Darwinism has lost; evolution has come to a screeching halt. We have found a way thru medicine, surgery, politics, laws, sunblock, ... (you name it) to keep those who would normally be gone from the planet by natural selection alive everyday. Survival of the fitest has turned into survival of all and created a pretty messed up world. Thank goodness Mother Nature will eventually do us in if we dont do it to ourselves.