Seoul Makes Traffic Signs for Smartphone Users

These days drivers aren’t the only ones warned about the dangers of using a cellphone while moving at high speed – or actually at any speed. The simple act of walking has also become hazardous when it is paired with simultaneous cellphone use, specifically smartphones.

These are the phones that keep you “busy” or distracted from what is going on in your surroundings. They can even “blind” you from a car coming straight at you when crossing a street.

This is why the Metropolitan Government in Seoul, Korea has announced its plan to plant pedestrian traffic signs, banning pedestrians from using their smartphones while walking on busy city streets.

The official announcement has stated, “The traffic sign is designed to show pedestrians at a glance a dangerous situation in which a smart phone user runs into a car while walking on the street. In order to enhance understanding, the phrase “Warning: Be careful while using a Smartphone while walking” will be added to the sign.”

Currently, it is not a full-blown project, as it is in the pilot stage in only a few, but key, areas where there have been many accidents involving pedestrians from the age of 10 to 30.

The five main areas to hold the pilot project are pedestrian locations of Gangnam Station, Jamsil Station, Hongdae, City Hall, and Yonsei University.

Germany has also taken a few measures to warn smartphone users by locating some signs on sidewalks in hopes of alerting pedestrians while on their phones. Washington, DC, has a “cellphone lane” created in 2014 as does the Chinese theme park Yangren Jie.