Red Lights at Hong Kong Crosswalks Are Helping Phone Zombies Cross the Street

With pedestrians increasingly glued to their mobile phones and deaths among inattentive jaywalkers rising, Hong Kong is trialing a novel approach to keeping its citizens safe at road crossings.

Instead of just relying on traditional ‘Red Man’ stop signals, authorities have installed LED lights that bathe crossing points in a red glow. The hope is that people gazing down at their devices will see the sidewalk lit up, and be reminded to stop.

“With the increasing popularity of smartphones, some of these pedestrians are distracted,” said Alex Au, the Transport Department’s chief engineer for traffic control. The lights are an additional means to remind pedestrians, “especially those looking at their mobile phones,” that they should not cross.

The six-month trial at four locations in Hong Kong builds on decades of global innovation aimed at keeping pedestrians safe while crossing busy roads. Audible signals ranging from cuckoo cries to lilting melodies are used across the world to help the visually impaired. Some countries such as Australia have touch panels that vibrate when it is safe to cross.

Read the full article on Bloomberg CityLab

Author: Haley Wong

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