Austria Puts Airbags on Lampposts to Protect Cell Phone Users
Smombies
This is what society has become.
Austria is covering lampposts in airbags to stop people from bumping into them as they walk around staring at their phones.
Authorities in Salzburg say more and more tourists are hurting themselves by not looking where they are going while checking their phones. Locals describe them as Smombies, which is short form for ‘smartphone zombies’.
The airbags come after a warning from a local board which promotes safety in public and private life known as the board for traffic safety. A spokesperson for the board says pedestrians are now involved in more accidents in the city of Salzburg than anyone else on city streets –including cyclists, moped drivers and car drivers. 40% of those pedestrians injured were hurt because they were distracted at the time.
