The reports claimed that texting while walking was outlawed in one New Jersey town. The response was so overwhelming that the Fort Lee, NJ police chief had to make a public statement explaining that the law was taken out of context and, like so many things on the Internet are, blown out of proportions.

Monday morning the residents of New Jersey awoke to the news that texting while walking was now illegal in Fort Lee and that there had already been more than 100 tickets issued. Of course, this had all the avid texters in a tizzy and there was fear that this texting while walking ban could catch on in other Jersey towns. Chief Thomas Ripoli spoke with MSNBC about the pedestrian safety measured and explained that he had been receiving phone calls all day from all reaches of the world.

The article explained that, “Folks who are texting while walking in Fort Lee are indeed issued a $54 jaywalking ticket…but only if they also happen to be jaywalking at the same time.”

So before everyone goes all Angry Birds on Fort Lee officials understand that the ticket is issued for jaywalking, as that is illegal. The crackdown on those who wander into the streets arose from the three pedestrian deaths and 20 pedestrian accidents that have occurred in Fort Lee this year.

Since the measure was decided upon, the Fort Lee police have handed out more than 600 pamphlets and yes they did give out 117 tickets—for jaywalking. There have been no tickets reported to have been issued simply for texting while walking.

This news came on the tail of some research recently put out by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center highlighting the dangers associated with texting and walking, or ‘distracted walking.’ Like distracted driving, distracted walking is everything that takes the person’s attention away from the task at hand—in this case walking without veering into the street, another person, or inanimate object.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Richard Lichenstein, explained in an interview with NBC Washington that, “Everybody is aware of the risk of cell phones and texting in automobile, but I see more and more teens distracted with the latest devices and headphones in their ears. Unfortunately as we make more and more enticing devices, the risk of injury from distraction and blocking out other sounds increases.”

Perhaps, with the real dangers that do stem from walking while texting or performing other actions, a ban on distracted walking is not far off, but for now pedestrians can continue to text to their heart’s desire—just watch out for that car, and that person, and that pole.