City In Germany Creates New Traffic Lights For Those Who Text & Walk

It is no secret that texting while driving is dangerous, but studies have found that texting while walking is also dangerous. After all texting while walking could lead to you walking into lamp posts, potholes, an open manhole, or worse, oncoming traffic. In fact this is such a disturbing trend that over in the city of Augsburg, Germany, officials have created new traffic lights designed to warn those who text and walk.

As you can see in the photo above, since people who text and walk basically have their eyes pointed downwards, these new traffic lights have been embedded in the ground in hopes that the person will be able to notice them time before they unknowingly walk into an oncoming car or bus without paying attention.

According to city officials, the installation of the traffic lights were prompted after a 15-year old girl was killed by a tram while texting and walking. Unsurprisingly some weren’t too thrilled with the idea as they believe that it is a waste of taxpayers’ money. In fact it has recently been suggested that over in the US, some states are considering making texting and walking illegal.

That being said, other parts of the world aren’t so harsh. For example over in Antwerp, Belgium, a special lane has been created for those who text and walk to prevent them from bumping into other people, although who’s to say that they will be able to stay in their lines anyway, right? In the meantime what do you guys think? Are these traffic lights a good idea, or a waste of resources?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, General
Tags: safety