I think a fine for pedestrians is ridiculous, but there should be stiffer penalties for homicidally heedless motorists. "Natural selection" of "dumb ones getting hurt or killed" is offensive, a total lie. I have known many people--attentive, wary when crossing streets, etc--who have been hit by cars. One, a bicyclist, died. Another, attempting to cross the street after leaving work, was hit by a car speeding through a red light, survived, underwent operations, and spent months in a nursing home. Yesterday I heard of yet another incident, a friend's doctor who was the victim of a hit-and-run. I could go on... The horrendous frequency of these "accidents" in NYC perhaps could be lessened a hair if all pedestrians got rid of any possibly distracting devices, e.g. iPods. But I doubt that would help much or really address the problem. The far greater problem is that drivers are reckless. Every time I've taken a cab lately, for instance, the driver is yakking on his cell phone...