Australia places underground traffic lights specifically for smartphone addicts

With so many people glued to their smartphones while walking, the Australian government has been forced to pilot a new traffic light system specifically for these people.

Traditional traffic lights are so outdated that the Australian government now has to catch up with the technology era by installing additional traffic light systems under the road surface for pedestrians who are always busy living virtual lives on Instagram, Facebook or some other social networks.

Social networks increasingly influence people's lifestyles and habits, almost every time they wake up or before going to bed, everyone has to use their phones to check social network notifications to see if they have missed anything during the day. Even walking on the street cannot stop these followers' passion for virtual life, so accidents are very likely to happen every time they cross the street with their eyes glued to their smartphones and not even looking at traffic lights.

Understanding this problem, the authorities of the state of New South Wales (Australia) were forced to find a way to save their people, and so the project of placing traffic lights on the road was proposed and will be put into trial use this December.

It is known that this pilot project will cost 250,000 AUD (equivalent to 4.06 billion VND). "Pedestrians are often less protected when an accident occurs, and therefore they are very vulnerable to serious injuries or even death. That is why we created this special traffic signal system to protect them, and it also covers the case of individuals who are always glued to their smartphones without paying attention to their surroundings," said Bernard Carlon, Director of the Traffic Safety Operation Center.

The area where this lighting system will be applied has not been officially announced, however it is very likely that it will be located in 5 areas in the central district of Sydney.

According to statistics, in 2015, 61 pedestrians died in traffic accidents in the New South Wales area, an increase of 49% compared to 2014. This is an alarming rate that local authorities cannot ignore and are forced to find solutions to protect people. This solution has also been applied similarly in Augsburg (Germany) to help "zombies addicted to phones" not stray into the traffic of trains.

In our country, do you often use your phone while driving? If so, try to quit this habit to avoid unfortunate accidents for yourself and other road users around you.

(Reference Mashable)