You Can Jay-Dance If You Want To

True life: I’m an occasional jaywalker. It kind of comes with the whole living-in-NYC thing. We New Yorkers just aren’t very good at waiting.

But jaywalking can be extremely dangerous—both for the jaywalkers and for the motorists attempting to swerve out of the way. That’s why Smart Car introduced a new campaign this summer to try to curb it (so punny). They asked: What if you didn’t have to wait or jaywalk? What if, instead, you could jay-dance?

(via fastcocreate.com)

Cue the dancing traffic light!

Yep, Smart Car installed an actual dancing traffic light at a busy city intersection in Lisbon, Portugal. Here’s the coolest part: This little red dude’s moves come from real people. The company set up a dance booth near the intersection, where passing pedestrians could animate the traffic signal with their slickest moves—in real time. (Does anyone else wish a dancer like Lil Buck happened to be strolling through Lisbon this summer? Think of the traffic-signal possibilities!)

And guess what: It worked! The Lisbon intersection saw 81 percent fewer jaywalkers (and a whole lot more jay-dancers).

For a closer look at the dancing traffic signal, check out Smart Car’s video below (warning: there’s one expletive in the accompanying track):

Then check out this “making of” video:

Happy jay-dancing, everyone!