Reader Response CAA 25/11/17 (Portfolio FINAL)

According to the article by Tan (2017), “Floor lights help 'smartphone zombies' keep eye on the road”, Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be implementing a six-month trial project by installing Light-Emitting Diode (LED) strips on the pavement at the crosswalks to improve road safety of the pedestrians. It aims to resolve the hazards caused by the 'smartphone zombies' phenomenon. ‘Smartphone zombies’ refer to people who walk without taking their eyes off their phone. While the implementation of LED strips aims to improve the safety of the pedestrians at crosswalks, it possibly poses potential problems that the article did not address. The authority should focus on a different approach in order to raise people’s awareness of road safety.

First of all, the project might lead people to be over-reliant on the LED technology. Barber (2017) explained that the LED strips help the pedestrians by directing them to react accordingly but it cannot check the safety of the road for them. Pedestrians are required to check the road by themselves to ensure that it is safe to cross. For example, if he or she is facing an irresponsible motorist who drive his car recklessly definitely increases the chances of an accident to occur. Thus, it is important that the pedestrian lookout for any unusual vehicle behaviour before crossing the road.


Next, the project would create a bad habit among the young generation. Pakri (2017) states that the approach might input wrong ideas to the children that it is safe to cross the road as long as the LED strips indicator states so. There will be unbearable consequences if the children are not properly taught on road safety. One scenario is the primary school children who walk to school every day and rely heavily on LED strips to cross the road. They might develop this bad habit and it would pose danger to them if they travelled to another country where the LED strips were not installed.

 

Furthermore, the ‘smartphone zombies’ might not react to the LED strips while they are focusing on their phones. According to Himmer (2014), research done by NTT Docomo shows that there is only a small percentage of field vision when one is focusing on his or her smartphone. As such, implementing the project of installing the LED strips might not be effective.

 

According to Pakri (2017), instead of accommodating the pedestrians practice of using phones while crossing the road, LTA should invest towards educating the pedestrians about the importance of road safety. Advertisement through real-life example of people that neglects road safety can be used as an education tool for the adults so that they could impart the knowledge of road safety to the young generation. The behaviour of the parents always influences their young children. As such, if the parents learn to act safely when crossing the road in front of their children, it could teach them to do the same.


In conclusion, pedestrian safety is a concern for all of us. Instead of heavily spending funds on the project, the authority should explore different approaches that could impart knowledge to the pedestrians and build responsibility for them.

Reference:

 

Himmer, Alastair (2012). Japan's smartphone 'zombies' wreak havoc on the streets. Phys.Org. Retrieved September 25, 2017, from https://phys.org/news/2014-11-japan-smartphone-zombies-wreak-havoc.html

 

Pakri, Shah (2017). Educate 'smartphone zombies', not accommodate them. Straits Time. Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/educate-smartphone-zombies-not-accommodate-them

 

Tan, Christopher (2017). Floor lights help 'smartphone zombies' keep eye on the road. Straits Time. Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/floor-lights-help-smartphone-zombies-keep-eye-on-the-road


Completed and Edited on:

25th November 2017


Comment:
Jun Peng Reader Response.

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