"We’re taught from knee-high to look in both directions, wait, listen and then cross. You can perform none of those functions if you are engaged in some kind of wired activity."
Yes you can, actually- it's called "listening with one earbud out". You can look in both directions, listen, and cross. Even if you can't listen, you probably aren't going to get run over- you just have to be alert and at least mostly aware of how many cars are coming down the street at you.
If this bill only applied to texting, I can see it passing. I don't want to pay for your broken arm because you walked into a lamp post or cushions for telephone poles- case in point:
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=807vebt-mmQ
But if this bill in its current form were to succeed, what's next? A prohibition of carrying on a conversation with the person next to you? A fine for humming your favorite tune while walking down the street?