How do you feel about pedestrians texting and talking on cell phones?

I can’t say I care. If someone wants to be stupid and not pay attention when crossing the street or a parking lot, they’re most likely only going to hurt themselves. When the driver of a car decides to be that stupid, they’re quite likely going to kill someone else.

It’s a parking lot, no one should be whizzing anywhere.

Natural selection will take care of them if they’re that dumb. But you don’t really know how vigilant they are. We are fully capable of multitasking.

It is a recipe for disaster. I almost saw a woman killed the other day as she stepped out to cross a street completely oblivious to traffic.

Poor choice of words, Snarp, Not “whizzing.” Just trying to get from point A to point B without hitting somebody who walks directly into their path.

I feel it is a technology that has gone amuck.

Walk for a week and see how frighting it is when you cross the street at a crosswalk and someone is texting in their car. You don’t want to walk in front of them.

I totally agree, johnpowell. I’ve experienced that, too. So it’s not just a pedestrian problem, it’s a cell phone. TOO MANY OF THEM AROUND! (Okay, I’ll climb down off my soapbox now.)

I don’t see much of it around here, or not to the point where it’s something I’ve noticed and considered a problem. I don’t use my cell phone much, but I’m pretty sure I’m capable of talking on the phone and crossing the street or parking lot at the same time. Next time I’m out, I’ll try it. ;)

Texting would probably get me killed though. I have to really concentrate, and part of my problem is that I can’t stand “text speak” and have to spell everything out properly. Even if I’m sitting here at home I don’t like to text, so almost never do it.

Random pet peeve alert. What bothers me about cell phones in public is when people don’t stop talking while paying a cashier. It just seems rude to me, that you have to take a phone call while someone is waiting on you. I wouldn’t stand at the Starbucks counter with a friend, having a loud conversation between the two of us, while the barrista rang up my order and gave me my change. Why is that acceptable if the friend is on the phone instead of standing next to you? For some reason, that drives me crazy. Get off the damn phone and say thanks to the person helping you! Smile or something!

You don’t need to use your hands to walk. It’s easy enough to multitask.

I have no problem with people walking and talking, as long as they are attentive to traffic. I’ve seen people without cell phones ignore the world around them, too.

Texting can be done if done intelligently. Many of us text so much that we don’t even need to watch what we type. Again, just focus on getting safely through traffic.

I can walk and talk on a cell phone without being so distracted that I wander across the street or a parking lot oblivious to cars around me. Texting is another matter, and if I’m texting I stop what I’m doing to have a look about before stepping off a sidewalk. Generally I avoid the whole business of cell phones though.

Frankly though, I think drivers who don’t properly yield to pedestrians, drive too fast (including in parking lots), and run red lights are a much bigger concern than pedestrians on cell phones.

Pedestrians have the right of way. Cars should be watching out for them. Here’s an idea – we could ban the use of cell phones while walking, talking, and peeing. Let’s fully rely on the government to protect us from ourselves since we are too stupid!

Pedestrians should be allowed to use cell phones. I kind of agree with lilkoi in the sense of people should be smart while on the phone. Walking through a parking lot with your ears plugged is just dumb, but to say no cell phones at all is insane. If you’ve ever been walking somewhere and needed to call someone it would be a pain to have to stop and wait for the call.

I feel the too many people are careless and inconsiderate about where and how they use their phones.

I’ll use my mobile in the street, but I am clever enough to look both ways to cross the roads, I’ve maybe walked into the odd lamp post though.