ARTWORK warning young people about walking and texting has been painted on pavements at south Warwickshire secondary schools.
The new pavement art campaign has been launched by Warwickshire County Council’s road safety team.
At the heart of the campaign is the message “walking can really ruin a phone”.
This refers to the potential hazard of dropping a phone while using it on the way to school but also aims to make pupils aged 11 to 16 aware that if they are lost in texting on their phones they may be oblivious of the potential hazards around them – such as busy roads.
The new art installations have recently been painted at Henley School, Alcester Academy, Kineton High School, Trinity Catholic School in Leamington and
Aylesford School in Warwick.
WCC transport spokesperson Coun Jan Matecki said: “Warwickshire’s young people texting while walking to school is a common sight around the county and we hope this new pavement art campaign will make them aware of the potential dangers.
“When people are texting and walking, they are not adequately aware of their surroundings and this can have catastrophic consequences, particularly around busy roads during rush hour periods.”
The campaign is timely as recent research from the University of New South Wales concluded that people texting while walking are far more likely to have trip, fall and collision accidents. This latest study adds to previous research that indicated that texting pedestrians are more likely to walk unawares into oncoming traffic.
