Now officials in Bodegraven-Reeuwijk, about 25 miles south of Amsterdam in the western Netherlands, are piloting a program that they think may help protect such distracted pedestrians. At a handful of intersections around town, illuminated LED strips of light (called “+Lichtlijn,” or light lines) have been installed into the pavement.

The “light lines” can change color and are synced with their corresponding traffic lights; as soon as the normal crossing light turns red or green, so, too, does the one in the ground.

The idea, officials said, is that people on their phones are going to be staring toward their feet anyway. Why not make it more likely that they will still be able to see the traffic light in their immediate peripheral vision?