These artists are using optical illusions to make roads safer

There are many things in life that we've all been doing the same way for so long that we don't even both to question whether they could be improved. Like washing sieves (it's impossible), or the humble zebra crossing, unchanged since 1951: sure, it's functional - but is it the best it could be?

Mother and daughter team Saumya Pandya Thakkar and Shakuntala Pandya, from Gujarat, India, don't think so. They've come up with a new design, which they've painted on a road in Ahmedabad.

Instead of simple white lines, their design uses a 'trompe l'oeil' technique so that the crossing appears to rise up off the road. The idea is that the trick will catch drivers' eyes as they approach, causing them to slow as they approach.

Whether they've accounted for the number of pedestrians likely to wander out into the middle of the road to see the 3D effect for themselves remains to be seen.

(Photo via Saumya Pandya Thakkar's Facebook page)