The Nanny State Holds Your Hand

Ahh, New York. It is the Nanny State: 

First it was cell phones in cars, then trans fats. Now, a new plan is on the table to ban electronic gadget use while crossing New York City streets.

We all seem to have one — an iPod, a BlackBerry, a cell phone — taking up more and more of our time, but can they make us too distracted to walk safely? Some people think so.

If you use them in the crosswalk, your favorite electronic devices could be in the crosshairs.

CBS station WCBS-TV in New York reports that legislation will be introduced in Albany on Wednesday to lay a $100 fine on pedestrians succumbing to what State Sen. Carl Kruger calls iPod oblivion.

"We're talking about people walking sort of tuned in and in the process of being tuned in, tuned out," Kruger said. "Tuned out to the world around them. They're walking into speeding cars. They're walking into buses. They're walking into one another and it's creating a number of fatalities that have been documented right here in the city."

The city of New York very nearly literally wants to hold your hand as you cross the street, now.