Being distracted by your phone while crossing the road could cost you your life, with 'texting zombies' four times more likely not to spot oncoming traffic.

Now, in a bid to keep phone addicts safe, a German city has embedded lights into the road at a pedestrian crossing so texters needn't raise their heads to tell when it's safe to cross.

While some people believe the extra lights in the city of Augsburg are a waste of money, they are the latest safety feature to protect phone users.

In a bid to keep phone addicts safe, a German city has embedded lights into the road at a pedestrian crossing (pictured) so texters needn't raise their heads to tell when it's safe to cross

It follows the introduction of designated pavement lanes for texters in the Chinese city of Chongqing and at a US university.

City spokeswoman, Stephanie Lermen, told German site N-TV: '[The embedded lights] create a whole new level of attention.

She added the project is a good use of money and the lights were introduced following the tragic death of a 15-year-old using a phone, by a tram.

A recent survey of European cities including Berlin found one fifth of pedestrians are distracted by their phones, with a study conducted by the University of Washington suggesting it's as high as one in three in the US.

The US Department of Transportation has linked phone use to an increase in pedestrian deaths.

However, commentators in German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung complained the project is a waste of taxpayer's cash, The Washington Post reported.

Augsburg is not the only city introducing measures to make phone users more aware of their surroundings – or at least keeping them safe as well as others around them.

A recent survey of European cities including Berlin found one fifth of pedestrians are distracted by their phones (illustrated with a stock image), with a study conducted by the University of Washington suggesting it's as high as one in three in the US

In 2014, the city of Chongqing experimented with a 165ft long pavement divided into lanes – with one for speedy and alert pedestrians and another for 'smombies,' meaning smartphone zombies.

Similarly, last year, Utah Valley University's Student Life and Wellness Centre (UVU) introduced a 'walking and texting' lane to a busy flight of stairs.

The idea started as a joke, although it could ensure that diligent students get to class on time and prevent accidents caused by people not looking where they are going.

The staircase was divided into three lanes, for walking, running and texting.

Make sure you don't walk in the texting lane at @UVU:http://t.co/YBaLL9uO5B pic.twitter.com/OKMuFg42X5 — Inside Higher Ed (@insidehighered) June 17, 2015

Matt Bambrough, UVU's creative director, suggested the lane references many students' bad habit of dawdling along while texting or typing on their smartphones.

'When you have 18 to 24-year-olds walking on campus glued to their smartphones, you're almost bound to run into someone somewhere; it's the nature of the world we live in,' he said.

'But that isn't the reason we did it. We used that fact to engage our students, to catch their attention and to let them know we are aware of who they are and where they're coming from.

'The design was meant for people to laugh at rather than a real attempt to direct traffic flow.'

Mr Bambrough said the staircase has received positive feedback but that most texters 'aren't following the posted lanes.'

'It's the nature of the world we live in. I've texted and walked before - it's not against the law,' he said.