Safety Improvements for Texters Around the World

Cities are experimenting with safety measures for pedestrians who text while they walk, but the projects could benefit everyone.

1 minute read

May 8, 2016, 11:00 AM PDT

By Elana Eden


Seeing Eye People

Joseph Lin / Improv Everywhere

In Germany, the cities of Cologne and Augsburg have installed new traffic lights in the ground next to some rail crossings, for those looking down at their phones. In Munich, some crossings communicate with smartphones through an app.

And at a theme park in China, pedestrians make use of a designated "phone lane."

The impetus for these experiments may be new-fangled, but as a parent points out in The Guardian, Augsburg's ground lights also grab the attention of kids. And buses that announce when they're about to turn, like those piloted in Portland, Seattle and Cleveland, could be helpful to walkers in a variety of situations.

By contrast, an Idaho city took a punitive approach, levying fines of $50 for texting while walking.

Friday, April 29, 2016 in The Guardian

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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