An Israeli city has installed LED “zombie” traffic lights in the hope it will force pedestrians* to look up from their smartphones while crossing the road.

Officials in Tel Aviv embedded the stoplights in the ground at a busy crosswalk as part of a bid to improve road safety. Similar systems have already been used in Australia, Singapore and the Netherlands.

Tomer Dror, head of Traffic Management Division at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, says the aim is to reduce accidents caused by pedestrians who are too focused on their smartphones. Dror says the idea is to put the road into their eyes.

The pilot* program is limited to a single intersection in central Tel Aviv, but the municipality says it will expand the lights if it proves effective.(SD-Agencies)