If sci-fi movies taught us one thing it’s that technology and electronic devices will lead to our demise. No one would have guessed that electronic devices like cell phones, video games, and especially iPods would lead us right into oncoming traffic.

Since September, three pedestrians, including a 23 year-old man, were fatally hit by traffic in the Brooklyn area while crossing the street and listening to their iPods or using some other electronic device. One pedestrian was hit by traffic despite the cries of “watch out,” from other people. It was clearly due to the distraction of devices like an iPod that led to the deaths.

New York state senator Carl Kruger believes the use of electronic gadgets is “becoming an endemic and is creating an atmosphere where we have a major public safety crisis at hand.”

Though that may sound harsh for a friendly-looking gadget like an iPod, legislators have decided that proper restrictions are necessary to protect the citizenry since they obviously cannot protect themselves while crossing the street.

Kruger proposed a law banning the use of iPods as well as Blackberries, video games and other electronic devices that cause distraction while crossing the street. If passed, violators will receive $100 tickets.

Most assume that crossing a sidewalk and listening to music is not an endemic in DeKalb, yet we see it everyday and probably do it ourselves. If listening to iPods while crossing the street can kill people, then it probably shouldn’t be done. DeKalb residents are not bound by laws to prevent them from doing so and hopefully one won’t be necessary like it is in places where iPod use is just as frequent. However, the risk is just as high here and it’s only a matter of time before a careless student steps into the wrong place at the wrong time.

Despite the obvious dangers of listening to iPods while crossing the street, it seems to take deaths like the ones in New York for any real initiative to take place and even so it probably won’t be enough.

Regardless of proposed legislation, it’s likely that people will continue using the electronic devices while crossing the street, despite the potential dangers. Just like jay-walking, enforcement for this type of law will be tough. Laws like these try and send people the right message but aren’t enough to completely stop it from happening, which is when people must decide to protect their own well-being.

In a world where new gadgets are popping up everywhere we look, it is important not to become so absorbed in them that we are completely unaware of our surroundings, which happens a lot more than one would think.

Of course, listening to any song isn’t worth risking one’s life, It shouldn’t be laws that force us to protect ourselves and cross streets safely. We should be doing that on our own. People, simply, need to be aware of their surroundings, regardless of what they have in their hands.

Everywhere we look there is a potential for disaster. The day when people underestimate the dangers of the world we live in today is when something goes wrong. As with driving, walking requires people to be cautious also.