Very well executed, and should be effective (even short term).

Really don't understand why any pedestrian would think it's more important to look at the phone the few seconds it takes to cross an intersection. Priorities, people!

Besides, people/cars/scenery are interesting to look at too, spend some time to look at the environment all around you!

(Mea culpa: While I do look at my cellphone while I walk, I do look up most of the time, and I stop if I need to type. And never look at the phone near intersections, it's just principle.)

OMG that was awesome.

Are you sure this isn't a segment from "Just for Laughs: Gags", the Canadian hidden camera prank show?

So I just got back from Paris.

If you think traffic in the US is insane, try getting from one side of the city to the other. There's no traffic flow; everyone just goes when they want. And peds are the worst. They will step out on the street whenever, instead of waiting for the "green man" (the 'ok to cross' light), and damned whoever is driving on the road at the moment.

The first day I was there, I saw the body of a struck Frenchman laying in the middle of the road by Ecole' Militaire (sp). In America, this would have drawn a huge crowd. In Paris, no one even slowed down.

Don't get me started with bikes in Amsterdam, either.