Distracted moving: iPod crackdown.

• Author: Balko, Radley
• Position: Citings - IPod and cellphone ban while crossing street - Brief article

AFTER A 30-YEAR decline in pedestrian deaths on America's roadways, there was a tiny increase of 0.4 percent in the first half of 2010. Deciding that cell phones and iPods are to blame, New York state Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) has introduced a bill making it a crime to use them or other electronic devices while crossing the street.

"When people are doing things that are detrimental to their own well-being" Kruger told The New York Times in January, "then government should step in." Other legislators agree. Arkansas state Sen. Jimmy Jeffress (D-Crossett) has proposed a law that would prohibit pedestrians and joggers from using headphones...