On Jan 14, the traffic police in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, began fining those who lower their heads to read smartphones while crossing the road, so as to enhance road safety. Yanzhao Metropolis comments:

The Wenzhou traffic police are enforcing the local Regulation on Promoting Civilized Behavior, which came into effect on Jan 1. That regulation came into effect because smartphones are an increasingly common cause of traffic accidents.

And while the dangers of driving while using a phone are well known, people seem to ignore the risks of crossing a street while concentrating on their phones. According to data from the World Health Organization, more than 270,000 pedestrians worldwide die from traffic accidents each year, and a major reason of them is the victim being distracted by his or her smartphone.

It is absolutely necessary to prevent people from using their smartphones while crossing roads. The traffic authorities have done much work in the past. In Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, some shops even co-arranged a special lane for "smartphone addicts", which had clear signals on the road that enabled them to see clearly even with their heads lower, but these do not solve the problem.

The new regulation in Wenzhou offers some food for thought. By fining those who are using smartphones while crossing roads, the new regulation will teach them a lesson that they won't forget.

Besides, the fine, which is not high, is more like a wakeup call. It is not aimed at punishing people. Let's hope the new regulation in Wenzhou will help to solve the problem and similar measures can be adopted elsewhere.