Thai university trials “mobile phone lane” in effort to increase student safety

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I’m sure you’ve all been there: you’re walking behind someone who’s engrossed by their smartphone, constantly jabbing at its screen while strolling along, when suddenly they stop dead right in front of you and you have to take evasive maneuvers to avoid crashing into them.

You’d think that, as a country known for its impeccable manners, Japan would be immune to such inconsiderate behavior, but smartphone zombies are just as common here as anywhere else in the world. It really is a global epidemic.

One university in Thailand is taking steps to remedy the problem, however, introducing the first ever “mobile phone lane” for pedestrians who can’t seem to take their eyes off their cellphones while walking to and across campus.

The “mobile phone lane” was created by a group of students at Kasetsart University in Bangkok who were tired of bumping into other students too absorbed in texting or talking on the phone to pay attention to their surroundings.

The idea was suggested as part of Toyota Thailand’s Toyota Challenge 2015, asking students to come up with solutions to problems they experience on campus.

Check it out:

Right now the lane is being trialled at one of the university campus’s busier sidewalks, separating cellphone users from non-users. Many students believe it will help them get to class more easily without having to walk on the busy street next to the sidewalk, a potential danger, to avoid those not looking down at their phones instead of ahead. After the trial wraps up, the data gathered will be analyzed by a team of researchers to see what kind of effect the lane has, if any.

We think it’s a great idea, but it may be a while before we see something like this hit Japan. After all, the country still hasn’t finished adding all the bike lanes necessary to accommodate the new bicycle law changes rolled out earlier this year.

Source: YouTube/The Nation
Feature/top image: YouTube/The Nation