London has just rolled out the world's first 'Safe Text Street' designed to prevent injuries to pedestrians who are texting. Lampposts on London's Brick Lane have been covered in padding designed to reduce injuries suffered by texters.
The Safe Text Street may sound a little ridiculous until you learn that 6.6 million accidents have been caused due to walking texters colliding with lampposts, trash cans, and more. Brick Lane is currently the only street to have padded lampposts, but more padded lampposts may come if the number of texting and walking accidents stays the same.
What's Driving This Trend
- Safe Text Street
- Street design with padded lampposts to reduce injuries from texting and walking, could be implemented in other cities with high pedestrian traffic.
- Anti-distraction Devices
- The rise of anti-distraction devices like sidewalk markers and lights could provide a solution to the problem of texting while walking on busy streets.
- Connected Street Infrastructure
- Cities could use connected street infrastructure, such as smart lampposts and sensors, to help pedestrians navigate safely while using mobile devices.
Who This Affects Most
- Urban Planning
- Urban planners and architects could incorporate safe text street design as a standard in road safety to prevent accidents.
- Technology
- Technology vendors could develop anti-distraction devices and mobile apps that encourage safer pedestrian behavior while walking and using a mobile device simultaneously.
- Insurance
- Insurance companies could create risk assessment models to evaluate the impact of street design and anti-distraction devices on pedestrian safety, and provide specialized coverage related to such new innovations.
