China creates world's first 'phone lane' for texting pedestrians

MANILA, Philippines – Have you ever experienced crossing the street and suddenly stopping just because you bumped into someone who was busy fidgeting with their phone? Or were you the one who constantly goes through this hassle because texting or tweeting while walking is your own personal habit?

Presently, cellular phones have metaphorically become human’s breathing apparatus. Most of us cannot leave the house without our cellular phones. With the practice of texting while walking becoming increasingly common, the city of Chongqing in China recently came up with a solution to avoid traffic on the pedestrian caused by the habit -  separate cell phone lanes for pedestrians.

On the street lies a 100-foot stretch of sidewalk covered with signage in Chinese and English, warning people to walk in the proper lane and at their own risk. Moreover, a signage saying "First mobile phone sidewalks in China," accompanied with a diagram that explains to pedestrians how to use the lane are also seen.

Time reports that the inspiration for the dual sidewalk came from National Geographic in the U.S., which created similar divisions on a section of pavement in Washington, D.C., in July as part of a televised behavior experiment.

The idea may seem ridiculous at first, but who knows, maybe China's dual sidewalk would really make crossing the streets easy.