NSW tries ground-level traffic lights at key Sydney crossings for added safety of pedestrians hooked on gadgets

Because a lot of people today are too obsessed with their mobile devices, a number of accidents and deaths have been attributed to pedestrians texting or taking a selfie while walking. To provide its residents added safety and protection while walking New South Wales streets, the state government would place ground-level traffic lights at key crossings in Sydney.

Mashable reports that the experiment would begin in December and run through May 2017. The $250,000 project, which runs for six months, aims to make streets safer for pedestrians often glued to their devices while walking.

Bernard Carlon, executive director of Centre for Road Safety, explains, “Pedestrians are less protected in a road crash, and are therefore more likely to be seriously injured or killed. This is why we need to create a road system that keeps them safe, and this includes situations when they may not be paying attention.”

The project is part of the state’s Towards Zero advertising campaign that would result in the installation of five ground-level traffic lights in Sydney, reports Mirror. Carlon says the lights would serve as additional layer of warning on top of existing signals and lights.

NSW tried the experiment after it experienced a 49 percent jump in pedestrian deaths on state roads at 61 people in 2015. A similar initiative is found in Augsburg City in Germany.