Walking and texting is probably a lot more safe compared to texting while driving, although admittedly it can also be dangerous if you were to walk and bump into others, walk into a manhole, trip and hurt yourself, or worse – walk into oncoming traffic. That being said over in Antwerp, Belgium, a text-walking lane has been created to help with that problem.This isn’t a government initiative, but rather one that was cooked up by Mlab, a smartphone laboratory in the city which some believe could be some a publicity stunt. According to a spokesperson for the group, “You probably walk through the streets while texting or sending Whatsapp messages to your friends and don’t really pay attention to your surroundings – only to whatever is happening on your screen.”
They add, “This causes collisions with poles or other pedestrians. You could, unknowingly, even be endangering your own life while you ‘textwalk’ when you cross the street without looking up.” The lane has been setup in some of the city’s busier shopping neighborhoods where foot traffic is heavy, and while it is temporary who’s to say that they won’t catch on?
It is an interesting idea although we have to wonder what’s stopping these folks whose faces are buried in their phones bumping into others in a similar situation?
[Image credit – Rex/Yahoo News]
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