Skip to main content

Dutch town pilots traffic light for distracted pedestrians

The Dutch town of Bodegraven is piloting a new pedestrian traffic signal which it hopes will warn pedestrians staring at their mobile phones that they are about to cross the road. Developed by local firm HIG Traffic Systems, the +Lichtlijn or +Lightline, consists of an LED lighting strip in the pavement near intersections linked directly to traffic signals and changes from red to green to alert distracted pedestrians that they may safely cross. According to DutchNews, the Dutch road safety organisatio
February 16, 2017 Read time: 1 min
The Dutch town of Bodegraven is piloting a new pedestrian traffic signal which it hopes will warn pedestrians staring at their mobile phones that they are about to cross the road.

Developed by local firm HIG Traffic Systems, the +Lichtlijn or +Lightline, consists of an LED lighting strip in the pavement near intersections linked directly to traffic signals and changes from red to green to alert distracted pedestrians that they may safely cross.

According to DutchNews, the Dutch road safety organisation VVN said it did not think the new lighting would be a solution, saying it was rewarding bad behaviour.

Related Content

  • Trials of new technologies to counter age-old work zone challenges
    May 19, 2017
    New solutions are being used to improve the management and safety of work zones on roads both big and small, as Jon Masters discovers. The UK government has recently been going to some lengths to paint a picture of a nation embracing a future of digital technology – understandably given the economic concerns arising from exiting the European Union. In December last year, however, the UK National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) put down a somewhat different marker for where the UK is now in terms of mobile c
  • Enforcement suppliers highlight industry best practice
    March 15, 2012
    Major suppliers of enforcement technology highlight the countries, regions or cities that they consider to be leading the way in reduction of road traffic violations. The French government’s ambitious programme of enforcing traffic law violations has proven to be an unrivalled success and is continuing to bring improvements in road safety with innovative enforcement technology.
  • American Traffic Solutions
    March 16, 2012
    The City of Edmonton in the Alberta province of western Canada has a system in place which American Traffic Solutions (ATS) believes exemplifies how a road safety camera programme should be operated. Edmonton’s programme began in September 1999 with six cameras rotating through 12 locations. Nearly 10 years later, at the beginning of 2009, provincial legislation was passed allowing police agencies in Alberta to use road safety cameras to enforce both red light and speed infractions.
  • Asecap Days 2025: 'Vision Zero is not a number, it’s about a culture'
    May 29, 2025
    Saving lives and saving road infrastructure were two of the topics at the second and last day of the annual conference of Asecap, the European road tolling association, in Spanish capital Madrid