Honolulu is the first major US city to make crossing the street while looking at their phone illegal.
The ban, signed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell is meant to reduce injuries and deaths from "distracted walking".
“We hold the unfortunate distinction of being a major city with more pedestrians being hit in crosswalks, particularly our seniors, than almost any other city in the county.”
Starting in October, pedestrians can be fined between $15 and $99 depending on the number of times police catch them looking at a phone or other mobile device as they cross the street.
A University of Maryland study found that between 2000 and 2011, there were more than 11,000 injuries from phone-related distractions.
Efforts to help pedestrians with their averted gazes extend beyond America.
London has experimented with padded lamp posts to soften the blow for distracted walkers and in Germany, embedded traffic signals were placed into the ground near train tracks to help downward-fixated pedestrians avoid injury.