Smartphone Accidents

[Anchor Lead]

So many people walk while texting or browsing their smartphones that the number of traffic accidents involving pedestrians glued to their smartphones has spiked as well. Here are some solutions to lower the number of smartphone related accidents.

[Pkg]

A pedestrian crosses the street, unaware of a car speeding toward her. She ends up getting hit by the car, because her eyes were glued to the smartphone in her hands. It's not uncommon to see people walking with their heads down to look at their smartphones.

[Soundbite] Lee Da-om(Seoul Resident) : "I had many near-accidents because I crossed the street on a red light while looking at my smartphone."

The number of pedestrian accidents caused by smartphones increased 2.5 times over the past five years. With the number of accidents soaring, traffic signs and stickers have appeared to warn against using smartphones while walking. But it's questionable whether these signs will be noticed at all by the pedestrians whose attention is focused on their smartphones.

[Soundbite] Kwak Seul-ji(Seoul Resident) : "At a glance it appears easy to spot since it's written in red, but it's actually not that noticeable because it isn't as easy to see as I thought."

As a result, authorities are considering the option of installing traffic lights in the pavement to increase their visibility for smartphone users.