City Launches New Campaign To Get Drivers, Pedestrians To LOOK!
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Big Apple is ready with a new look to keep pedestrians safe.
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Officials have launched a new safety campaign called LOOK! It is aimed at getting motorists and pedestrians to pay attention when driving and crossing the street.
"New Yorkers are driven to distraction with their smart phones, and the simple act of looking can prevent thousands of crashes and injuries every year," said Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
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The campaign features pavement markers, with eyes drawn inside the "O's" in the word "LOOK!," painted in crosswalks at 110 intersections across the city.
Ads catered to drivers and pedestrians will also be plastered on city buses, bus shelters, phone kiosks and other outdoor placements reminding people to "drive smart" and "walk safe/cross smart."
The ads and markings are being placed together at dangerous intersections across the five boroughs, officials said.
Some New Yorkers think the logos won't get people to look up from their phones and pay attention.
"In New York are you going to read a little sign in the road to tell you what to do? Odds are probably not if you're on your feet," one woman said.
"I think the real problem with New Yorkers is that everybody steps off the curb. It's this funny habit that I think only New Yorkers have where we step four feet into the street," another man said, adding that a campaign advising pedestrians to stay on the curb would be more beneficial.
In 2010, nearly 9,200 people were injured and 41 were killed in New York City in crashes involving distracted drivers, officials said.
