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Australian Pedestrians Could Be Fined $200 For Using Phone Crossing The Road

Australian Pedestrians Could Be Fined $200 For Using Phone Crossing The Road

It's hoped the proposed fines will stop people from putting themselves at risk

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

Australian pedestrians who stare at their phone while crossing the road could soon be fined A$200 (£112) if new proposals are given the go-ahead.

This new measure has been suggested by the Pedestrian Council of Australia and could see hefty fines doled out to anyone spotted checking their phone instead of watching where they are going.

If they get through, the new rules would also mean that people wearing noise cancelling headphones would be liable for a fine, too.

Harold Scruby, from the Pedestrian Council, told 9 News that they reckon the fines would be a decent deterrent to stop people putting themselves into potentially risky situations.

PA

Scruby said: "We would like to see a penalty of $200 nationally, and it would be titled 'cross road while distracted'.

"There'd be a penalty for the use of any device while crossing the road.

"We've spent 8-10 years advertising, now it's time for enforcement."

He continued: "A lot of people say if they [pedestrians] are going to be stupid, it's their problem but the fact is the cost of road trauma per annum is about $30billion and much of that is pedestrian trauma.

"At the moment there's no stopping people wearing noise-cancelling headphones and stepping out on pedestrian crossing or a green light without looking, listening, stopping, thinking.

"They're in la la land. They're not aware of the imminent danger surrounding them.

"If you park your car and go five minutes over on a parking meter, it's about $110 [fine] where there's no potential for harm so why wouldn't you have a considerable amount more for this?"

PA

Naturally, the proposals have divided opinion. Some people think that they are completely reasonable, whereas others think that they go too far.

One man said: "I think that's ridiculous. If there's a pedestrian crossing you should be allowed to cross."

Another person added: "Drivers and pedestrians have equal responsibility to be safe, so if they're distracted they should probably be fined equally."

Australia already has several rules that carry penalty fines regarding pedestrians. They include failing to obey traffic lights, failing to give way, and crossing the road within 20m of a pedestrian crossing.

All of those offences carry a fine of A$81 (£45).

As you can probably imagine, this idea is a popular one amongst road safety experts. To be fair, they'd back anything that meant that people crossed the road with more care and attention.

A noble cause, there's no doubt.

PA

According to road safety folk, crossing the road whilst staring at your phone is a form of inattentive blindness.

It's also pretty damn stupid, given the likelihood of getting hit by a car. Just stop scrolling Instagram for two seconds whilst you get across.

However, despite all this, the police have said that they've currently got no plans to introduce further fines or penalties for those caught using their phone whilst walking down the street.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, Australia, Cars