Special lane for smartphone addicts introduced

Dedicated lanes for cyclists and pedestrians seem to be bygone. In the age of smartphones when users are oblivious of their surrounding, a city in northern China introduced a special pedestrian lane exclusively for slow-walking smartphone users.

According to the Shaanxi Online reports in BBC, the pavement along the Yanta Road in Xi'an now has a special lane painted red, green and blue, and is 80cm wide and 100m long. Only pedestrians who want to use smartphones can walk on the lane which has pictures of smartphones along the route, distinguishing it from an ordinary pedestrian lane.

Apparently, a large shopping mall which looks onto the street came up with the idea to make it safe for pedestrians glued to their phones. But the mall staff said the lane was introduced to remind pedestrians to put their phones away while walking on the road, CGTN quotes Beijing Youth Daily.

Residents interviewed by a local newspaper welcomed the move and said the lane makes it safer for people to walk on the road. However, on Chinese social media, reactions to the lane ranged from bemusement to ridicule, reported BBC.

Earlier this year, a toddler was hit by a car while crossing a road in China as the mother was busy on her smartphone. She faced severe criticism on social media for being negligent but the luckily the child escaped with minor injuries.