Honolulu was the first major American city to prohibit pedestrians from looking at telephones, writing messages and using digital devices while crossing the road.

The ban in the largest city of Hawaii will come into force in October, it is designed to reduce the number of injuries and deaths in "inattentive walking".

Violators staring at electronic devices - including laptops and cameras - will be fined for between $ 15 and $ 35. In the case of repeated violations, the fine can grow to 99 dollars.

An exception is provided for calls to emergency services, they will not be punished for.

The decision of the city authorities states that "a pedestrian can not cross a street or a highway, looking into a mobile electronic device".

Critics of innovation have already accused the government of excessive regulation of people's behavior.

"Sometimes I want us to not have to make some laws so that common sense may prevail, but sometimes we lack common sense," Kirk Caldwell, the city's mayor, told Reuters.

According to the US authorities, incidents involving pedestrians who have been distracted by mobile phones have led to more than 11,000 injuries in the US in 2000-2011.

Statistics for the past few years have not yet been published, but, most likely, it is even more depressing.

Honolulu is not the first city that tries to provide security for "smartphone zombies" - people who do not look up from the phones when walking.

A year ago, the authorities of German Augsburg placed red light signals right on the sidewalk near the crossing, so that they would be noticed by even those who do not look around.

Several years ago, in the Chinese city of Tsongqing, dedicated walkways for people with telephones were made.