Dutch municipality rolls out traffic lights for distracted smartphone users
The + Light Line system in action.
In an interview with Dutch news agency OmroepWest, HIG's Mark Hofman has expressed concerns that the pedestrian-smartphone combination is not as harmless as it may sound:
“Smartphone use by pedestrians and cyclists is a major problem. Trams in The Hague regularly make an emergency stop because someone looks at their smartphone instead of traffic.”
Kaas Oskam, a councillor in the Bodegraven-Reeuwijk township also warned about the hazards of getting distracted with “social media, games and WhatsApp”. In his opinion, such dangerous trends can't be easily reversed, but can be anticipated.
The tests strips are currently only installed at one intersection that is close to several schools, but if the project becomes successful, HIG aspires to implement it on a much wider scale.
source: The Guardian
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