China is using jet streams and lasers to stop jaywalkers

GUILTY of jaywalking? Don’t try that in China, where newly installed road devices will give illegal crossers an unpleasant surprise.

LET’S face it, we’re all guilty of jaywalking.

You’re in a rush, the traffic is light and there’s one of those convenient little islands halfway to stop at if you get weary on your journey.

Bravely risking a $72 fine, you glance around and march forward in defiance of the threatening red man.

Yeah, don’t try that in China.

Citizens in the city of Daye in China’s Hubei province will get sprayed by a jet of water if they cross before the friendly little green man appears.

Law enforcement officers in the region recently installed five bright yellow posts at one of the city’s busiest intersections.

According to China Daily, the posts feature a speaker system that informs pedestrians when it’s safe to cross — with a warning.

“Please don’t go through,” the automated recording says. “You will be sprayed with water.”

Footage has emerged at street crossings in the region showing Chinese citizens getting blasted with a mist of water for disobeying the rules.

They also contain laser beams that display red and green lights to show when it’s safe to cross.

All in all, the equipment cost a local information technology company 1.3 million yuan ($A270,000) to install.

And in case a big wet splotch on the front of your trousers wasn’t enough of a deterrent, the monitors also come with facial recognition technology that can identify jaywalkers.

People who jaywalk will be photographed, and pictures of their faces are sent to a police database and used to determine their identities.

Last month, the ABC reported Chinese authorities in the southern city of Shenzhen had launched a public website to name and shame offenders using artificial intelligence cameras.

Photographs of the offending pedestrians are now instantly displayed on LED screens installed at road junctions in the region.

Hmm. Maybe we’ll just wait the extra 10 seconds.