New York City Now Wants To Stop You From Using iPods, Cellphones and BlackBerrys

surferdudesurferdude Posts: 2,057
edited February 2007 in A Moving Train
http://tech.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=2853562&GT1=9132

New York City is at it again. Now they want to help you to live longer by curbing your use of iPods, cellphones and blackberrys. For those who applauded the trans fat ban you only encouraged them to take away more freedoms from us all.
“One good thing about music,
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    "he referred to the January death of a 23-year-old Brooklyn man who, tuned into his iPod headphones, walked into the path of a city bus."

    How exactly did the iPod cause this? A person not aware of his surroundings is gonna get hit by a bus. In this case this is simply thinning the herd.
  • ...and fuck New York too.
    "L'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers"
    -Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    cutback wrote:
    "he referred to the January death of a 23-year-old Brooklyn man who, tuned into his iPod headphones, walked into the path of a city bus."

    How exactly did the iPod cause this? A person not aware of his surroundings is gonna get hit by a bus. In this case this is simply thinning the herd.
    He was unaware of his surroundings. While I don't agree w/ the guy banning them, there is a point. It's like wearing headphones while driving, which is illegal.
  • surferdude wrote:
    http://tech.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=2853562&GT1=9132

    New York City is at it again. Now they want to help you to live longer by curbing your use of iPods, cellphones and blackberrys. For those who applauded the trans fat ban you only encouraged them to take away more freedoms from us all.

    Totally different issues.....I agree with this latest proposal as absurd and I did applaud the trans fat ban...but again two totally different topics IMHO....
  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    Jeanwah wrote:
    He was unaware of his surroundings. While I don't agree w/ the guy banning them, there is a point. It's like wearing headphones while driving, which is illegal.

    You mean to tell me when you cross the street you don't look? How does an iPod prevent one from seeing?
  • Totally different issues.....I agree with this latest proposal as absurd and I did applaud the trans fat ban...but again two totally different topics IMHO....

    I disapprove both, maybe a legislation that makes restaurant or food producers label the amount of fat and trans fat, but not banning them.
    "L'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers"
    -Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    cutback wrote:
    You mean to tell me when you cross the street you don't look? How does an iPod prevent one from seeing?
    How many people walk out in the street without bothering to look to see if anything's coming? Plenty. People are so trained to watch the walking signs that they don't look for traffic. I see it all the time, and there are plenty of times I get the finger because I'm not stopping for them (the pedestrians).
  • hippiemomhippiemom Posts: 3,326
    The difference, as I see it, is that in the case of the trans-fats, people were unknowingly affected by them. I would have preferred mandatory labeling, but I couldn't get too worked up about the ban. No one is sneaking up on people and slapping headphones over their ears, unbeknownst to them. If people are walking about unable to hear, and they don't even look where they're going and they get hit .... well, that's Darwinism for ya.
    "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 1963
  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    Jeanwah wrote:
    How many people walk out in the street without bothering to look to see if anything's coming? Plenty. People are so trained to watch the walking signs that they don't look for traffic. I see it all the time, and there are plenty of times I get the finger because I'm not stopping for them (the pedestrians).

    I'm confused. How does not listening to an iPod change that?
  • it's e.e. cummings...anyway

    it's similar to the cell phone use while driving ban...

    if someone hits you while you're legally in a crosswalk then it's the drive's fault and not the pedestrian's...if you walk on the walk signal then this shouldnd't be a problem - if you walk on a don't walk signal then, i say, you deserve to fucking die.
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • chopitdownchopitdown Posts: 2,222
    hippiemom wrote:
    The difference, as I see it, is that in the case of the trans-fats, people were unknowingly affected by them. I would have preferred mandatory labeling, but I couldn't get too worked up about the ban. No one is sneaking up on people and slapping headphones over their ears, unbeknownst to them. If people are walking about unable to hear, and they don't even look where they're going and they get hit .... well, that's Darwinism for ya.

    well said.
    make sure the fortune that you seek...is the fortune that you need
  • hippiemom wrote:
    The difference, as I see it, is that in the case of the trans-fats, people were unknowingly affected by them. I would have preferred mandatory labeling, but I couldn't get too worked up about the ban. No one is sneaking up on people and slapping headphones over their ears, unbeknownst to them. If people are walking about unable to hear, and they don't even look where they're going and they get hit .... well, that's Darwinism for ya.

    ...EXACTLY...
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    surferdude wrote:
    http://tech.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=2853562&GT1=9132

    New York City is at it again. Now they want to help you to live longer by curbing your use of iPods, cellphones and blackberrys. For those who applauded the trans fat ban you only encouraged them to take away more freedoms from us all.

    he is only planning to introduce the legislation. you really think it's going to pass? i don't. and the transfat thing is different.

    and anyway, don't move here if you disagree so much.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • Gary CarterGary Carter Posts: 14,067
    if you walk on a don't walk signal then, i say, you deserve to fucking die.
    true and its cause people really dont give a shit bout the laws and cause there on the cell-phones not paying attenton.worst invention to mankind was the cell-phone
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • floyd1975floyd1975 Posts: 1,350
    VictoryGin wrote:
    he is only planning to introduce the legislation. you really think it's going to pass? i don't. and the transfat thing is different.

    and anyway, don't move here if you disagree so much.

    My fear is that their little followers (otherwise known as the DC city council) will just have to be as cool as the kids up north and do the same thing. I am already on the verge of moving. Something like this would make me finally cross the river.
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    zstillings wrote:
    My fear is that their little followers (otherwise known as the DC city council) will just have to be as cool as the kids up north and do the same thing. I am already on the verge of moving. Something like this would make me finally cross the river.

    yeah i heard about the smoking thing. *sorry*

    but could you imagine trying to enforce this thing on sidewalks (and remember it hasn't been introduced yet)? ha. i don't know if dc sidewalks ever get like nyc's but i just can't see this happening.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • floyd1975floyd1975 Posts: 1,350
    VictoryGin wrote:
    yeah i heard about the smoking thing. *sorry*

    but could you imagine trying to enforce this thing on sidewalks (and remember it hasn't been introduced yet)? ha. i don't know if dc sidewalks ever get like nyc's but i just can't see this happening.

    Thanks for the condolences. At least, if I really want to smoke, I can still go to Virginia.

    I can't imagine enforcing this either. Both cities seem to be somewhat lax on jaywalking. Could you imagine the cops actually trying to get people on this? Enforcement would last a week until they found easier tickets to write and place on parked cars.
  • surferdudesurferdude Posts: 2,057
    delete.
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    surferdude wrote:
    So we should only comment or act on legislation once it passes. Interesting approach you adopt. Why act pro-actively??? Why be part of the solution when you can be a bystander to the problem.

    that's not what i was saying. although it does make me wonder why you would be so upset about local legislation in nyc that would never affect you. i mean if it's what the people here want, then so be it, right? federalism!
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • EbizzieEbizzie Posts: 240
    VictoryGin wrote:
    although it does make me wonder why you would be so upset about local legislation in nyc that would never affect you.

    if it passes, it becomes a precedent.
    "Worse than traitors in arms are the men who pretend loyalty to the flag, feast and fatten on the misfortunes of the nation while patriotic blood is crimsoning the plains." -- Abraham Lincoln
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    zstillings wrote:
    Thanks for the condolences. At least, if I really want to smoke, I can still go to Virginia.

    I can't imagine enforcing this either. Both cities seem to be somewhat lax on jaywalking. Could you imagine the cops actually trying to get people on this? Enforcement would last a week until they found easier tickets to write and place on parked cars.

    are there signs up outside of dc bars about being quiet? that's a nice side effect of the ban--people complain about noisy sidewalks. i must say though, i rather enjoy not smelling so smoky at the end of the night. i guess the perfect compromise is a smoking beer garden.

    good point about jaywalking--i see way more people with electronic devices than jaywalking, and i never see the jaywalkers get busted. i see more police in the subway than anywhere else.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • VictoryGinVictoryGin Posts: 1,207
    Ebizzie wrote:
    if it passes, it becomes a precedent.

    well i guess you can cross that bridge if you get to it.

    i honestly have bigger problems than electronic device and walking legislation that i don't think will pass/be enforced. and i think that if local people want to let that pass, than that's what this great nation is all about. and this is probably a good point to stop posting about it, for me.
    if you wanna be a friend of mine
    cross the river to the eastside
  • VictoryGin wrote:
    he is only planning to introduce the legislation. you really think it's going to pass? i don't. and the transfat thing is different.

    and anyway, don't move here if you disagree so much.
    VictoryGin wrote:
    well i guess you can cross that bridge if you get to it.

    i honestly have bigger problems than electronic device and walking legislation that i don't think will pass/be enforced. and i think that if local people want to let that pass, than that's what this great nation is all about. and this is probably a good point to stop posting about it, for me.

    someone's sensitive...who would have thought the cellphone while driving ban would pass...or the trans-fat ban...

    ...it's about things be presented and voted on and passed and signed into law without the citizenry really knowing what is going on. oh well. this is stupid legislation - why would any state legislature waste their time on something like this?
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • zstillings wrote:
    Thanks for the condolences. At least, if I really want to smoke, I can still go to Virginia.

    I can't imagine enforcing this either. Both cities seem to be somewhat lax on jaywalking. Could you imagine the cops actually trying to get people on this? Enforcement would last a week until they found easier tickets to write and place on parked cars.

    it would be like enforcement of speeding. jaywalking, this is not...
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • Ebizzie wrote:
    if it passes, it becomes a precedent.

    no, it becomes a law which can be referenced...precedent is a court decision that must be followed (with little room for narrowing, and not much more room for broadening).
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • EbizzieEbizzie Posts: 240
    no, it becomes a law which can be referenced...precedent is a court decision that must be followed (with little room for narrowing, and not much more room for broadening).


    Really, what was the point of this post? Atleast look the word up to make sure it doesn't fit my statement before acting like a fucking English teacher.

    according to dictionary.com:
    precedent
    *any act, decision, or case that serves as a guide or justification for subsequent situations.
    "Worse than traitors in arms are the men who pretend loyalty to the flag, feast and fatten on the misfortunes of the nation while patriotic blood is crimsoning the plains." -- Abraham Lincoln
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    cant they just ban cellphone use in public? id be pretty happy to never have to listen to some douchebag yelling into his phone in an effort to seem important again.

    the flipside is if people are getting killed doing this, all the more reason not to ban it. pass a law saying there is no liability for anyone in a car who kills a pedestrain on their phone or listening to their ipod. weed out the weak and stupid.
  • evenkatevenkat Posts: 380
    surferdude wrote:
    http://tech.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=2853562&GT1=9132

    New York City is at it again. Now they want to help you to live longer by curbing your use of iPods, cellphones and blackberrys. For those who applauded the trans fat ban you only encouraged them to take away more freedoms from us all.

    How did you come up with this is another NYC ban? Yes, it's the NY state senator from Brooklyn who wants to introduce this bill but if passed the ban will affect all major cities in New York State. The trans-fat ban was solely a NYC ban as it was something NYC's mayor wanted.

    From the article:

    A New York state senator has announced his plan to introduce legislation that will ban the use of electronic devices such as iPods, BlackBerrys and cell phones while crossing streets in major cities.

    ...

    The bill would effectively make it illegal to use any kind of portable electronic device--a music or video player, cell phone, smartphone, gaming device, etc.--while crossing the street in cities such as New York, Albany and Buffalo. Offenders would be slapped with a $100 fine and a criminal court summons. Joggers and bicyclists would have to limit their iPod use to city parks in which no street crossing would be involved

    ...

    The bill will not only have to be passed by the NY State Senate but also the NY State Assembly and then Governor Spitzer. I doubt it will be passed.
    "...believe in lies...to get by...it's divine...whoa...oh, you know what its like..."
  • even flow?even flow? Posts: 8,066
    Maybe more people will smile and say good morning when they are tuned back into the real world.
    You've changed your place in this world!
  • JaneNYJaneNY Posts: 4,438
    even flow? wrote:
    Maybe more people will smile and say good morning when they are tuned back into the real world.

    doubtful!

    I'm not for the ban - I don't wear an ipod walking around, but I don't think people should be stopped from doing so.
    R.i.p. Rigoberto Alpizar.
    R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
    R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
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