NJ town's police chief: No, we didn't ban texting while walking

1 day

Rosa Golijan

Those of us prone to typing out text messages while walking down streets were ready to storm Fort Lee, N.J., with pitch forks, torches and protest signs on Monday morning. After all, there were reports that texting while walking was banned in the town?? and that people caught doing so were fined.

But based on what?Thomas Ripoli?? chief of the Fort Lee Police Department?? told msnbc.com, we should probably relax and remember that not?everything we read on the Internet is always true.?

Ripoli, who'd been fielding calls from all over the world, says that discussion of his town's pedestrian safety was somehow taken out of context and that "things got out of hand."?Folks who are texting while walking in Fort Lee are indeed issued a $54 jaywalking ticket ... but only?if they also happen to be jaywalking at the same time.

Ripoli explains that Fort Lee saw three fatalities and more than?20 pedestrian accidents since the beginning of the year. In an effort to crack down on dangerous behavior while walking and prevent further accidents, the town's police department has started a safety?education?campaign, stopped more than 600 pedestrians and handed them pamphlets on the topic, and issued over 117 jaywalking tickets.

But not a single ticket so far?? nor any in the?foreseeable?future ?has been issued?specifically?for texting while walking.

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

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