The University of Kentucky has started a new campaign to prevent distracted walking on campus. UK placed signs at intersections and crosswalks to remind pedestrians who might be looking down at their phones to watch for traffic, according to CBS WKYT News. This action shines a light on what other ways could help prevent students from distracted walking.
UK officials say the goal of the campaign is actually quite simple, because they want students to look up, pay attention, and stay safe, according to WKYT.
“Checking the crosswalk in both directions prior to crossing and being aware of your surroundings is key to your safety,” Michele Laur, a safety specialist with UK Occupational Health and Safety, told WKYT.
The UK’s innovative campaign to keep students safe is just one of several interesting ways to prevent distracted walking. Here are a few other options that could help to reduce distracted walking and stop accidents from occurring.
Voice Recognition Typing
There are various voice recognition typing apps that could help to prevent distracted walking including, Voice Text. This app immediately converts your words into text and eliminates keyboards and typing, according to Voice Text.
This application also allows you to submit text to Social Networking apps, including Twitter and Facebook. This helps to prevent you from typing your current status update when walking on campus.
TalkBox is another option that you can use, as it is similar to what Voice Text offers. It also allows you to leave your phone in your pocket, due to its remote control capabilities, according to TalkBox.
iMessage, Apple’s built-in instant messaging service, is also a great alternative to the ones mentioned above. It allows you to record a voice note that you can send to your friends, as an audio clip, according to Apple.
Intersection Warnings
For those of you who may have a hard time putting down the phone, there are even apps to warn you when you are near intersections. Look Up is an app that vibrates when a pedestrian approaches an intersection and even lights up with colorful animation eyeballs, according to CityLab.
Watch Out! is similar to Look Up, but it displays a warning screen when you come to an intersection and blocks all smartphone activities like gaming, writing, and reading, according to Watch Out!.
Listen to Your Surroundings
Wearing headphones and listening to music could be an enjoyable experience, but it can also be dangerous when walking around outside. However, there are several apps that allow you to listen to music and hear what’s going on around you.
Awareness! is an app that uses your headphone’s microphone to analyze your surroundings and feeds any important sounds to you, over your music. With this app, you could hear honking cars and people talking near you.
Around Sound is similar to Awareness!, but it also pauses your music automatically when someone is trying to get your attention. The app also responds to loud noises such as screeching tires or car honks and can play back the sound that triggered it.
These apps could help to prevent distracted walking accidents by keeping you aware of what is going on around you at all times. However, accidents can still happen when you are doing everything to stay safe.
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