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posted by janrinok on Tuesday June 23 2015, @12:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the look-up,-problem-solved dept.

People sending text messages in the centre of the Belgian city of Antwerp have been provided with dedicated temporary "text walking lanes" so that they do not collide with pedestrians.

The initiative - some would say publicity stunt - is the brainchild of a smartphone store based in the city. It says that a significant number of mobile phone breakages happen because of "text walking" collisions. There are now believed to be more mobile phones in the world than people.

Figures released by mobile operators and associated companies show that there are about 7.5 billion mobiles in the world, compared to a world population estimated to be 7.2 billion by the US Census Bureau. The "text walking lanes" may become permanent fixtures

"You probably walk through the streets while texting or sending Whatsapp messages to your friends and don't really pay attention to your surroundings - only to whatever is happening on your screen," a spokesman for Mlab, a smart phone laboratory based in Antwerp, was quoted by Yahoo News as saying.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2015, @05:57AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2015, @05:57AM (#200245)

    I can tell you a bit more about the so called SMS lanes.

    They were done by a company, not by the city of Antwerp. The company made marks on public roadway, without permit or even bothering to request a permit. The city of Antwerp has reacted in television intervieuws to this unauthorised change by a privater person or company to the public space. They are not amused and will be sending a big bill to the company in question.

    Nothing going on here besides a company taking liberties with public property for commercial puroses. Same thing happening all over the world. Move along now sirs and ladies nothing to see here....