JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A new Israeli tech initiative called “SaveMe” is designed to protect pedestrians from being hit by cars on crosswalks. The new system identifies pedestrians who want to cross on the crosswalk and flashing lights placed along the whole crosswalk immediately light up.
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The lights attract the attention of drivers who can see them from over 30 meters away. The system’s algorithm is programmed to identify people near the crossing and not other items.
A pilot project has been successfully tested in the city of Akko and is expected to be used in other cities around Israel.
The owners of the company believe that the system will be fully integrated in some cities in 2022.
Speaking to B’Chadrei Chareidim, the owners said that their goal is to reduce accidents. “The system will not replace traffic lights but could save people’s lives. According to data from 2020, 78.5% of people who were hit while crossing a road were hit on a crosswalk.”
Previous light warning systems have been positioned on the sidewalks for pedestrians using smartphones, in order to warn them that they are crossing a busy crosswalk. The current system is designed to warn drivers of pedestrians crossing nearby.
Shabbos this can be an issue, waiting for Rabbi Hoffman to write an article.
The real question is why are they driving on Shabbos
They should consider using HAWK signals. Those would not pose a Shabbat problem: just don’t push the “cross” button. Maybe put a HAWK signal on a timer in high pedestrian traffic areas.