Traffic police in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou can now fine pedestrians who are engrossed in their phones while crossing the road, The Paper reported Wednesday.
Recently, a pedestrian surnamed Hu became the first person to be fined under the city’s new Regulation on the Promotion of Better Behavior, effective from Jan. 1. The amount: 10 yuan, or around $1.50. “Looking at your phone while crossing is dangerous since you might not be aware of cars,” a traffic police officer told local media. “Our aim is not to punish, but rather to raise awareness and ensure pedestrians’ safety.”
Chinese cities have gone to great and often creative lengths to control pedestrians’ behaviour at crosswalks, including setting up facial-recognition cameras, making violators post self-criticisms on WeChat, spraying jaywalkers with jets of water, and even enlisting dancing grannies as crossing guards.
