Chinese City Installs Lanes Specifically For People Walking With Their Phone
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Because we're slowly becoming a world addicted to our phones, it's becoming more likely to see people on a sidewalk looking at their device without a care as to where they're going or whether they bump into anyone.
In fact, there are so many videos online of people falling into ponds, hitting a wall or tripping over a sign, all because they were looking down instead of straight ahead - although admittedly, there are people who know exactly what they're doing:
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Well, one Chinese city is being proactive to this trend and has developed a special lane for those who reckon it's more important to read Facebook or Twitter while they're walking than actually looking at what's around them.
The 1,000-feet-long lane has been painted in the Shaanxi Province around a shopping centre.
There have been similar lanes built in the Chinese province of Chongqing as well as Washington DC, with the latter being a social experiment for National Geographic.
But this latest lane in Shaanxi has divided people on whether we should be encouraging this type of behaviour.
One person wrote: "How about a lane for fast walkers, couriers and dog walkers?"
Another added: "We used to care for the visually impaired by adding tactile paving. Now we're giving phone users a special lane. Why exactly do they need this special privilege?"
A third said: "This will only encourage the use of phones while walking."
Whether you think it's right or wrong, there's no denying that accidents related to people being on their phones in public are rising.
The Guardian noted a study from Ohio University which said that there were 1,506 cases in 2010 compared to just 256 in 2005.
Granted, virtually no one had a smartphone in 2005 but it just goes to show a lot can change in those five years.
But having a specified lane for certain groups has proved popular in the past.
A shopping centre in the UK tried to keep everyone happy in the lead-up to Christmas by introducing a 'fast lane' for those brisk walkers.
Lakeside Centre in Essex rolled out a 220-metre red line around its complex, which looks like it could fit two or three people side by side.
According to the Metro, the average walking speed in British shopping centres is 4.5 km/h (2.85mph), but that drops by 20 percent during the Christmas period. There are also four different types of fast walkers.
More than half are considered 'dodgers', who move around slow walkers, darting around them to get to their destination. Then about a third are 'skaters', who are a bit more graceful in their efforts to keep pace by politely moving through the crowd.
The final 26 percent is split between 'tutters', who remain stuck and just complain, and the 'bulldozers' who pretty much just say 'fuck it' and move with such determination that others just get out of the way.
Featured Image Credit: AsiaWire
Topics: World News, phone, Funny, Interesting, Technology, Community, Smartphone, China
