Pedestrians glued to their smartphones will be alerted if it’s safe to cross with in-ground traffic lights in central Sydney.

The trial, led by the Centre for Road Safety, got Neil Mitchell’s Ideas Factory buzzing with ways to improve pedestrian safety in busy streets.

‘We’ve had a 49 per cent increase in pedestrian fatalities with 61 people having lost their lives,’ Bernard Carlon from the Centre for Road Safety said.

‘You want people to take responsibility, but as well you want to design a system that will prevent people being killed.’

Other ideas include; 

• Countdown timers for pedestrian crossings
• Technology in cars to alert drivers when a pedestrian is close to the car
• Traffic signals delaying the car green light for 4 seconds

Click PLAY to hear the ideas on 3AW Mornings