(Image Credit: ABC News) 
 
 Avid texters beware: Fort Lee, N.J. police said they will begin issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to pedestrians who are caught texting while walking. 
 
 "It's a big distraction. Pedestrians aren't watching where they are going and they are not aware," said Thomas Ripoli, chief of the Fort Lee Police Department. 
 
 Ripoli said the borough, which is home to approximately 35,000 residents, has suffered three fatal pedestrian-involved accidents this year. He hopes his crackdown on people who display dangerous behavior while walking will make his town safer, but not everyone is on board with the idea of issuing $85 tickets. 
 
 "When I walk I still look around. I'm not like constantly looking down the whole time," said resident Sue Choe. 
 
 Another woman complained about the tickets were "a lot of money." 
 
 Officers handed out pamphlets during a short grace period in March before they began aggressively going after "dangerous walkers." 
 
 More than 117 tickets have been issued, according to the New Jersey Record. 
 
 Two professors at Stony Brook University in New York conducted a study on walking and texting. They found texters are 60 percent more likely to veer off line than non-texters. 
 
 "We want to raise awareness that a real disruption occurs because of texting," Eric Lamberg, co-author of the study, told Long Island Business News. "Texting disrupts your ability much more than does talking." ||||| A report released in 2015 by the Governors Highway Safety Association found an increase in pedestrian fatalities, and cited texting while walking as partly to blame. 
 
 Here is another reason to take a break from texting or talking on your smartphone while walking in New Jersey: a possible $50 fine. 
 
 A bill proposed this week by Assemblywoman Pamela R. Lampitt (D., Camden) would impose a fine of up to $50 and possibly 15 days in jail for pedestrians caught using their cellphones without hands-free devices while walking on public sidewalks and along roadways. 
 
 If the bill becomes law, "petextrians" - people who text while walking - would face the same penalties as jaywalkers in New Jersey. 
 
 "I see it every single day," Lampitt said Friday. "Maybe they will think twice about it." 
 
 A report released in 2015 by the Governors Highway Safety Association found an increase in pedestrian fatalities, and cited texting while walking as partly to blame. 
 
 Since 2009, pedestrian fatalities have increased by 15 percent to 4,735 in 2013, the report said. Nearly two million pedestrian injuries were related to cellphone use, the report said. 
 
 Another study, from Safe Kids Worldwide, a Washington-based nonprofit, found that 40 percent of teens said they had been hit or nearly hit by a car, bike, or motorcycle while walking. 
 
 The survey of more than 1,000 children between ages 13 and 18 found that 47 percent of those who said they were hit or almost hit were listening to music, 20 percent were talking on the phone, and 18 percent were texting, researchers said. 
 
 Researchers say distracted walkers are more likely to ignore traffic lights or fail to look both ways before crossing the street. 
 
 Philadelphia last year launched a "Road Safety, Not Rocket Science" campaign urging pedestrians to "pick your head up, put your phone down" to combat the perils of distracted walking. 
 
 Lampitt said she wants that message to hit home in New Jersey for pedestrians and motorists who could easily be distracted while looking at mobile devices. 
 
 Her bill, however, faces an uncertain future in the Legislature. It has not been posted for a vote and Lampitt acknowledged she might have a tough time getting it passed. 
 
 "If it builds awareness, that's OK," the lawmaker said. Similar bills have failed recently in New York state, Nevada, and Arkansas. 
 
 In January, Gov. Christie allowed another bill cosponsored by Lampitt, that would have established a Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Council, to expire under a pocket veto. It was passed by the Assembly and Senate. 
 
 A bill that would have annually designated September as "Distracted Walking Awareness Month" died in committee in 2014. 
 
 According to the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety, more than 1,600 people were killed between 2003 and 2012 in crashes caused by distracted drivers. Besides talking on a cellphone, the distractions include tuning a radio and eating and drinking. 
 
 New Jersey has a distracted driving law, which bans both texting and handheld cellphone use while driving. 
 
 mburney@phillynews.com 
 
 856-779-3814@mlburney
– Take your fingers off your cell phone, and nobody gets hurt. That could be a warning from one New Jersey town's cops, who are handing out $85 jaywalking tickets to pedestrians who text while they walk—117 so far. "It’s a big distraction. Pedestrians aren’t watching where they are going, and they are not aware," said the chief of the Fort Lee police department. Three pedestrians have been killed this year in car accidents, and investigators hope the crackdown will help public safety. Texters, considered "dangerous walkers" by the police department, were warned about the fines with brochures in March, notes ABC News. Two professors at a New York university found that texters are 60% more likely to veer cluelessly off their route than non-texters, increasing the likelihood that they'll stray into danger. Texters, not surprisingly, aren't LOL-ing about the change. “When I walk I still look around. I’m not, like, constantly looking down the whole time,” sniffed one resident.