There is a reason it’s called an experiment, especially since the idea could cause even more distraction than it’s worth. The reason that Iceland is attempting to use this 3-D crosswalk to gain the attention of distracted drivers however is pretty sound, since it’s important that drivers keep their eyes on the road and actually pay attention to people that are attempting to cross. But to be quite honest if someone is going to be that distracted then giving them something that looks like it’s hovering in midair doesn’t seem like the most optimal way to get them to pay closer attention to where they’re driving.
People are funny sometimes, and not always in a good way. 3-D representations on the road, the sidewalk, or anywhere that they can be used as an optical illusion tend to fool a significant amount of people. Whether they are so distracted that their minds don’t pick up the idea that what they’re seeing is a trick or they simply don’t realize, in that moment, the difference between a cunningly painted image and what’s real, some people will tend to react in very different ways. This reminds me of a number of sidewalk paintings that were done with such realistic 3-D that people would actually step around them and avoid certain parts of the painting just out of habit rather than common sense.
This idea does hold some merit at least, but painting a 3-D image just doesn’t seem to carry as much significance as is needed to stem the problem of distracted drivers. Back in the day, before cell phones, smart cars, and other various inventions that are supposedly making life easier, driving was a little more complex and required a lot more attention. The earlier cars had a lot more levers, gears, and operations that needed the driver’s attention to operate the vehicle, and as a result their attention was on the road and their thoughts were on how to navigate it while operating the car. Nowadays you almost never have to brake on your own with the new type of cars that have proximity alerts and will take over if needed.
Driving is not the same as it used to be, and as a result the measures taken to insure that people drive safely need to change. This is a step in the right direction for certain, but a little extra paint, no matter how wisely applied, seems like it’s going to fall just short of what needs to be done. Elevated walkways could be a possibility, but the cost of replacing crosswalks with the heavy amount of construction that would be needed could cost many cities across the world a great deal more than they’re worth. The cost of just two or three per city would no doubt create a price tag that would seem far too high even for the good they would do.
So as interesting and as needed as it is for a crosswalk to be more visible it is also just as necessary for distracted drivers to finally fix their eyes upon the road and remember why they’re in the car.
Follow Us
