Watch the street or face a fine

NEW YORKERS who blithely cross the street listening to an iPod or talking on a mobile phone could face a $100 fine.

The New York state senator, Carl Kruger, says three people in his Brooklyn district have been killed since September after stepping into traffic while distracted by an electronic device. In one case, bystanders screamed "watch out" to no avail.

Mr Kruger says he will introduce legislation to ban the use of gadgets, such as BlackBerry devices and video games, while crossing the street.

"Government has an obligation to protect its citizenry," Mr Kruger said. "This electronic gadgetry is reaching the point where it's becoming not only endemic, but it's creating an atmosphere where we have a major public-safety crisis at hand."

New Yorkers trudge to work appearing to talk to themselves on wireless devices, or swaying to seemingly silent tunes.

"I'm not trying to intrude on that," Mr Kruger said. "But what's happening is when they're tuning into their iPod or BlackBerry or mobile phone or video game, they're walking into speeding buses and moving automobiles.

"It's becoming a nationwide problem."