New York Senator proposes fine for ‘iPod oblivion’

In an attempt to help stop pedestrian accidents, New York Senator Carl Kruger is proposing a law to ban iPods and cells phones while crossing city streets. Kruger’s legislation, which will be introduced in Albany today, will slap pedestrians with a $100 fine if they are caught crossing the street with their earbuds in—what Kruger calls iPod oblivion. “We’re talking about people walking sort of tuned in and in the process of being tuned in, tuned out,” Kruger said. “Tuned out to the world around them. They’re walking into speeding cars. They’re walking into buses. They’re walking into one another and it’s creating a number of fatalities that have been documented right here in the city.”