With the rising number of smartphone users getting hooked on to various applications such as Facebook and WhatsApp, one can expect that pedestrian safety is going to be a big concern. Because of this, a German city has devised a simple but brilliant solution to pedestrians who can’t keep their eyes off their phone and into the street to look at traffic lights – put the lights on the street.

Like Us on Facebook

Augsburg city officials have made the choice to embed their traffic lights on the street itself because pedestrians are so hooked to their smartphones that they couldn’t even pay attention to it, reports the Washington Post. Apparently, this ingenious idea cost the government some money, but officials consider the funds well spent.

Stephanie Lermen, Augsburg city spokeswoman, said the street-embedded lights effectively catch the attention of pedestrians, and think that it’s a wise choice. A recent survey conducted in various European cities has reveals that nearly 20 percent of pedestrians, mostly those younger, are distracted by their smartphones, most especially with apps Facebook and WhatsApp.

Some Germans, however, think that the new streetlights are just a waste of money, reports the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Officials, on the other hand, consider the project justified because of a teenager who was killed by a tram because she was distracted with her smartphone while crossing the tracks.

Similar Efforts

A Chinese city in 2014 also experiment with a method to help control or manage smartphone usage while walking, the Associated Press reported at the time. This method, however, is not as expensive as Augsburg’s.

A 165-foot pavement located in the city of Chongqing had the usual walking lane divided into two sections: one for normal pedestrians who just walk without checking their smartphones, and the other one dedicated for heavy smartphone users. Apparently, this is because using smartphones while walking causes some unwanted collisions on the street, said Nong Cheng, a Chongqing official.

Did it fare better than Augsburg’s streetlights? No, said Nong.

"Those using their cellphones of course have not heeded the markings on the pavement,” Nong explained. “They don’t notice them."

TagsAugsburg, Germany, Facebook, WhatsApp, apple, Samsung, traffic lights, Chongqing