The in thing for pedestrians seems to be so engaged in texting that they don’t pay attention to traffic as they cross streets.

Or they could be on their cellphones. Or they’re listening to their iPods.

If they were driving a car, they could face fines costing hundreds of dollars for texting or being on their cellphones.

But there is no law against distracted pedestrians, Petaluma Police Sgt. Ken Savano says.

He says cars have the right of way on streets, except at crosswalks where pedestrians do. But he says pedestrians can’t just step out in front of traffic and expect cars to come to a screeching halt for them.

Drivers have to be responsible and so do pedestrians.

Savano says Petaluma has had three pedestrians killed in recent years and in each case the pedestrian was at fault.

He says he’s heard there’s an effort in Sacramento to address the issue of distracted pedestrians. New York’s legislature is considering such a bill, but one in Arkansas was dropped this year because of public protests.

Hal Pashler, a professor of cognitive science at UC San Diego, recently told the New York Times that listening to sounds through two earbuds creates a particularly powerful kind of “auditory masking” that drowns out external sound, such as traffic.

So, pedestrians: Watch where you’re going!