Britain introduces ‘slow lanes’ for people who text while walking

It is a fairly common sight to find people walking on pavements with their face buried in their smartphones. To ensure such people don’t bump into other pedestrians, two 247-foot long lanes have been earmarked for Britain’s mobile phone addicts.

These special “mobile safe lanes” are located in Manchester’s Spinningfields area. The mobile safe pavement in Hardman Boulevard has separate lanes assigned for texting pedestrians, marked with arrows and signages.

It is possibly necessary to earmark mobile safe lanes there because there are several offices, shops, and restaurants in the area, making the pavement a very busy one.

Distracted pedestrians engrossed with their phones are a nuisance in such busy streets, as they keep bumping into other people using the lane. These special lanes would let preoccupied texters walk on without worrying about bump sessions. They were setup by phone retailer AO Mobile last week.

However, The Sun reported that there is a possibility of this being just a PR stunt, given there’s no fine for walking outside the special lanes while texting or scrolling.

A research work published recently revealed that 75% British nationals are guilty of walking with their heads buried in their phones.

The phone retailer -- AO.com – claimed that 40% Brits want authorities to intervene when walkers are found distracted by their phones.

AO’s Richard Baxendale said: “We have to be realistic and responsible when it comes to the way society is changing. Our research found Brits being distracted by technology when walking is becoming an issue people want tackled. Our trial slow lane is an important first step that may well be adopted by other cities in the future.”

It is not clear yet if these separate lanes will remain permanently or will be done away with in the future. There is no information on whether any other city will adopt a similar approach, either.

However, Britain is not the first place to get dedicated smartphone only lanes. China did it long ago, in the year 2014.