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Honolulu became the first city in the world to impose a fine on “smartphone zombies” on Wednesday.

The new law will see people looking at their phone while crossing streets and highways fined up to $35 (£26.70) for their first offence.

This figure rises up to $99 (£75.51) by the third offence.

The law is aimed at making it safer for pedestrians to cross the road by eliminating “distracted walking”, where people focus on their phones rather than the road.

Should the UK be next?

Read more at Yahoo News UK:

Texting while you walk could land you with a fine in Honolulu, thanks to new law
Honolulu Will Ticket Distracted Pedestrians

Some pedestrian safety groups support the measure – in theory.

“We will be interested to see how this works,” said Kevin Clinton, Head of Road Safety for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

He was skeptical of the idea working in the UK, however.

He continued: “I don’t think it would be feasible or effective in the UK, as it’s unlikely the police would be able to devote resources to stopping pedestrians and issuing fines.”

Others were more critical of the idea.

“It’s the wrong move,” said a spokesperson for Living Streets, a walking charity involved in pedestrians’ issues.

“With our limited resources we should be looking at the actions which would have the biggest impact on improving road safety, such as slower speeds and proper enforcement of the current law,” they continued.

“If we actually want to save lives and not just focus blame on a small selection of people who look at their phones while waking, we need to create safer streets,” they concluded.