The City Council of New York City will introduce a new law on Thursday that will ban people from texting or talking on their phones while biking.
Violators will be fined $50 for the first offense, and up to $200 for multiple violations, if they have injured someone or damaged a property because of using their phones while riding their bikes. Those who get caught but have not injured anyone or damaged a property are exempted from the fine, but will be required to attend a seminar for bike safety, according to the NY Daily News.
Cyclists can use hands-free devices if they need to use their phones while biking.
"If you're biking and texting, you're obviously not paying attention to where you're going," New York City Councilman Mark Treyger, who sponsored the bill, said to the Wall Street Journal. "We want to discourage any type of distraction that will take your eyes off the road."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had not seen the proposal yet, but welcomed the idea. He believes that texting while biking poses the same risk as texting while driving.
In August, the New York Police Department (NYPD) launched Operation Safe Cycle, which targets cyclists who beat red lights, ride the wrong traffic way and fail to yield to pedestrians. During the time, cyclist groups criticized the rule and argued that it wouldn't be effective in reducing traffic fatalities.
Now, the impending law has also received criticisms from the same groups.
"It's a no-brainer that cyclists should not be texting and talking on the phone while cycling," Keegan Stephan, an organizer with Right of Way, an advocacy group for cyclists and pedestrians, said to the Wall Street Journal.
"However, I think it is misguided to create new legislation to prevent them from doing so. It's going to be a huge use of very limited resources."
New York City is not the pioneer of the no-texting-while-biking law, as it is already in place in Chicago and California.
