More safety for cell phone-using pedestrians

German transportation provider Stadtwerke Augsburg is experimenting with warning lights at two pedestrian crossings in the city in an effort to alert oblivious phone-using pedestrians to approaching trams. Rows of flashing LED lights installed into the kerb are intended to act as an alternative to conventional warning signs; when a tram approaches, they flash red to warn pedestrians that the traffic signal is red and green when it is safe to cross.
April 26, 2016 Read time: 1 min

German transportation provider Stadtwerke Augsburg is experimenting with warning lights at two pedestrian crossings in the city in an effort to alert oblivious phone-using pedestrians to approaching trams.

Rows of flashing LED lights installed into the kerb are intended to act as an alternative to conventional warning signs; when a tram approaches, they flash red to warn pedestrians that the traffic signal is red and green when it is safe to cross.

According to the Germany-based transportation research firm 7114 Dekra, an estimated 17 per cent of pedestrians engage with their smartphones in some way while walking. The prevalence of this habit is correlated with a rise in pedestrian accidents.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • April 28, 2017
    Report shows Oslo, London and Amsterdam lead ‘green’ cities ranking
    London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has presented its ranking of 35 ‘green’ cities, sponsored by smartphone chip maker Qualcomm. The report ranks 35 global cities based on their level of progress towards achieving this goal, finding that:
    Read More
  • June 10, 2024
    Safeguarding cities against wrong-way drivers
    Thermal imaging and artificial intelligence analytics provide the best path towards preventing deadly auto accidents, explains Stefaan Pinck of Flir
    Read More
  • March 19, 2018
    OKeenea has safer pedestrian crossings in view with aBeacon
    Okeenea already produces its more conventional accessible pedestrian signal (APS). While it has been a successful product, according to the company, it is also noisier and so is not so convenient for visually impaired people. Now, Okeenea has launched the aBeacon, which it says is the perfect mix of the APS and high-end technologies like iBeacon to provide new digital services to improve mobility of all citizens. Key features of the easy-to-install aBeacon include less operational noise and also activation
    Read More
  • November 28, 2013
    Roadside infrastructure key to in-vehicle deployment
    The implementation of in-vehicle systems will require multilateral cooperation, as Honda’s Sue Bai explains to Colin Sowman. Vehicle manufacturers will shape the future direction of in-vehicle ITS systems, but they can’t do it on their own. So to find out what they see on the horizon, and the obstacles they face, ITS International spoke to Sue Bai, principal engineer in the Automobile Technology Research Department with Honda R&D Americas. Not only does she play an important role in Honda’s US-based ITS
    Read More

Highlighted Content