Commentary On Newsela Central Ideas

Newsela Central Idea Report The central idea of the article entitled "The clever thing one Dutch town is doing to protect "smartphone zombies"" written by Amy B Wang, is that a Dutch town is going to launch a way so phone addicts, that are looking down at their phones while walking, are safer. If you didn't know, walking in towns while looking down at your phone is very perilous. You could easily get hit by a car or run into something. The article states that "For whatever reason — whether scrolling through Instagram or engrossed in a game of "Cooking Fever" — they're (the pedestrians on their phones) not fully attuned to the traffic light ahead." (Wang, paragraph 1). Since walking while looking down at your phone is really dangerous, "Now
The new idea is that "At a handful of intersections around town, illuminated LED strips of light (called "+Lichtlijn," or light lines) have been installed into the pavement." (Wang, paragraph 3). This will help the pedestrians with their phone problem. This will distract the walkers and make them cautious, because "The "light lines" can change color and are synced with their corresponding traffic lights." (Wang, paragraph 4) This means that if the crossing light turns green, the light lines will turn green as well. The pedestrians are already looking down towards their feet anyway, so the idea is perfect! The article suggests that "The council's list of pedestrian safety tips includes such age-old advice as "Look left, right and left again before crossing the street" but also now warns never to use a cellphone or other electronic device while walking."(Wang, paragraph 13) Kids these days should be getting taught to turn off their phones when walking around! The article points out that "The group (National Safety Council) found that distracted walking was responsible for more than 11,100 injuries between 2000 and 2011." (Wang, paragraph 12) Does this mean the light lines could save lives and increase safety? I