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Date Published: 02/03/2022

ARCHIVED - The innovative way Torrevieja is stopping people walking out into traffic while looking at their phones

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The Alicante city is the first in Europe to use traffic light warnings for Smartphone users

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - The innovative way Torrevieja is stopping people walking out into traffic while looking at their phones

We all know by now that mobile phones are a big source of distraction in our everyday lives, and that their use behind the wheel contributes hugely to road traffic accidents in Spain, so much so that the DGT has hiked up the penalties for chatting or texting while driving. But the dangers don’t disappear when we’re on foot, and many mishaps occur when pedestrians unwittingly step out into traffic while scrolling through their Smartphones.

To combat this problem, Torrevieja has installed “a new and pioneering system to help pedestrians” avoid disaster, the first of its kind in a European city.

The City Council, working with a company from Alicante, has erected special traffic lights on Avenida de la Libertad, in front of the Torrevieja Casino, that warns people who aren’t looking up when it is safe or unsafe to cross the road.

The so-called “intelligent traffic light” projects the image of the walking man onto the ground below, corresponding with a red or green light, so that pedestrians looking down at their Smartphones when at the zebra crossing will clearly be able to see the colour of the traffic light.

The inspiration for the pilot project comes from the fact that “the lack of attention shown by numerous pedestrians, more aware of their mobile than traffic, is increasing,” according to the Torrevieja Councillor for Security, Federico Alarcon. In fact, a 2019 study showed that 37% of those surveyed admitted to crossing the street without looking because they were engrossed in their phone.

The unique device is going to be presented at the Mobility and Road Safety Fair in Amsterdam, INTERTRAFFIC, between March 29 and April 1 this year. It is the largest event for traffic and mobility technology in Europe.

Images: Ayto. Torrevieja

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