Overview
The red light man never gives us much joy in life. Holding us up from catching the train or making us that crucial extra bit late for work, he is the cause of much frustration and general bad vibes in your day. Faced with his staunch neon presence we must choose to stand and stare at his mocking little face or dangerously make our way through oncoming traffic. Tough call.
To combat this frustration and make the streets a whole lot safer, Smart — the people behind the Smart car — found a way to keep us satisfied at the lights. Operating at an intersection in Lisbon, Portugal earlier this year, The Dancing Traffic Light put an interactive and entertaining spin on the red man — he danced.
Made in real-time, the dancing red man was controlled by the movements of other pedestrians nearby. Let loose inside a little dancing box with their own choice of soundtrack, passersby could manipulate the red man into all manners of disco, hip hop and salsa moves. Those waiting at the lights were then treated to the bizarre sight of a twerking pedestrian signal.
Produced as part of a Smart advertising campaign promoting safety, the experiment was designed to keep people entertained enough to not jaywalk. And, for the most part, it worked. The ad claims that 81 per cent more people stopped at the lights to watch.
Though there are no plans to bring the dancing red man to other parts of the world, those seem like the kind of figures we should listen to. Imagine if we could not only bring the number of pedestrians injuries down next to nil, but also provoke daily dance mobs every morning. Forget about elaborate motorways and public transport ticketing that doesn't ever work, the next state election is all about dancing red man.
Via Mashable.