New lights are being installed at junctions in Dublin city to alert distracted pedestrians when to cross the road.
The first of the red lights, which illuminate the ground, has been installed on Tara Street and are a new safety initiative from Dublin City Council.
The move is in a bid to better alert pedestrians who are looking at their phones or otherwise distracted to pay attention to the traffic ahead.
Having been increasingly successful in other European countries, including Poland and the Netherlands, the new initiative is currently operating on a trial basis.
Feljin Jose, Dublin City Councillor and Green party transport spokesperson previously told The Journal: ‘The broad idea is that they are being trialled at very busy junctions where there’s a lot of pedestrians crossing that may be distracted.’
He added: ‘That’s exactly the kind of thing that the traffic department should be doing, seeing what improves safety and what doesn’t.’
The lights have been dubbed ‘zombie lights’ elsewhere, with Dublin City Council eager to implement them in other high traffic areas of the city.
Speaking on the move, a spokesperson for the council said: ‘DCC have been trialling this technology at Tara Street for a number of months and will also be trialling different technology at other crossings to determine if there is any requirement for this type of technology to be rolled out at other locations.’
‘To date, it is too early to determine if any particular technology is suitable and if there is sufficient evidence to roll it out at further locations.’
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie
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