NYC banning pedestrian iPod use?

Just when I think government couldn't possibly invade and dictate our lives any more, out rolls another example of a do-gooder politician with his idea of a utopian society.

More like a dystopian one.

New York State Senator Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) (pictured at left) has introduced legislation to stamp out "iPod oblivion," a bill designed to eliminate what the senator calls the self-induced stupor, which has led to a number of fatal accidents in New York City. The bill would ban the use of iPods, PDAs — even cellphones — while in a crosswalk.

"You can't be fully aware of your surroundings if you're fiddling with a BlackBerry, dialing a phone number, playing Super Mario Brothers on a Game Boy, or listening to music on an iPod," Krueger said in a statement, as quoted in The New York Times.

While Druger didn't have statistics, he's serious about his proposal. According to the Times:

While he did not cite any statistical studies that have indicated a rise in such incidents, 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.

The bill would effectively make it illegal to use any kind of portable electronic device–a music or video player, cell phone, smart phone, 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.

What's next, banning gum chewing while walking the streets?

I can see Kruger's point - I really can - but limiting someone's personal freedoms because of a few unfortunate accidents is not what America is all about.

I'm sick and tired of government telling us how to live our lives. If someone doesn't have the common sense to watch where he or she is walking in the busiest city in New York, will a law help them? I don't know. And what's more, where do you draw the line? What about Bluetooth headsets?

Maybe Starbucks is behind this - anyone who wants to listen to an iPod or make or take a phone call will have to duck into coffee shops and restaurants.

It just seems so silly to me. And wouldn't this fall into one of those unenforceable laws? With murder, rape and drugs as prevalent as they are in the city, it strikes me as absurd that there would be cops walking the city streets and harassing people for listening to iPods and making phone calls.

Here's hoping common sense will prevail in the Empire State.