China Fights Traffic With Cell Phones
Travel News — By Candice Walsh on March 8, 2011 at 2:11 pmIn most places in Canada and the United States, cell phone usage while driving is almost entirely outlawed. If you’re spotted with your phone pressed to your ear, you could face a hefty fine.
But in China, cell phones might just clear up some traffic problems.
Last year in Beijing, a 62-mile, 9-day traffic jam caused the Chinese government to reassess the highway system and build a new super-speed railway. They’ve even introduced electric taxis. However, now China Mobile is working with the government to develop a project whereby traffic will be monitored via cell phone to give a better idea of how population flows in different places at different times throughout the day. It’s said that the new project will even give the government a better idea about population management based on the density in certain areas.
The key selling point of the project is that travel information can be sent to a user’s cell phone to help a driver better navigate their way around the city, thus decreasing congestion.
Sounds great in theory, but what about that big report released a few years back by the University of Utah indicating that cell phone usage while driving is just as dangerous as driving while drunk? Regardless of whether you have the cell phone pressed to your ear or are using a headset, conversation is still distracting.
The study proved that drivers on cell phones were more likely to drive and brake more slowly, and were more likely to crash. In fact, they crashed more often than the drunk drivers, and that doesn’t even include text messaging.
The project is still very much in preliminary stages, but people are also questioning how invasive the whole thing is. Do you really want someone to know where you are at all times?
[image: flickr/Keng Susumpow]
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