In Fort Lee, New Jersey, police officers are now handing out tickets to pedestrians that text while J-walking. In March 2012, Fort Lee Police Chief Thomas Ripoli issued a pedestrian safety statement (pdf) that suggests that pedestrians “need to resist talking on their cell phones and/or taking their headphones off while crossing a street.” According to Myfoxny.com, more than “20 pedestrians have been hit by cars so far this year in the borough.”
Here is the March 2012 statement issued by Chief Thomas Ripoli:
The State of New Jersey offers a Pedestrian Safety grant which the Borough of Fort participates in. This grant is typically designed to target motorists who do not observe a pedestrian’s right of way. As the Chief, I am instructing my officers in the coming weeks to focus not only on the motorists, but also on the pedestrians for enforcement of traffic laws, more specifically J-Walking (crossing mid block and not using crosswalks).
via Myfoxny.com, NorthJersey.com and Gawker
