Pedestrian self-reported use of smart phones: Positive attitudes and high exposure influence intentions to cross the road while distracted

Abstract

Pedestrian crashes are an important issue globally as pedestrians are a highly vulnerable road user group, accounting for approximately 35% of road deaths worldwide each year. In highly motorised countries, pedestrian distraction by hand held technological devices appears to be an increasing factor in such crashes. An online survey (N=363) was conducted to 1) obtain prevalence information regarding the extent to which people cross the road while simultaneously using mobile phones for potentially distracting activities; 2) identify whether younger adult pedestrians are more exposed to/at risk of injury due to this cause than older adults; and 3) explore whether the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) might provide insight into the factors influencing the target behaviours. Self-reported frequency of using a smart phone for three levels of distraction (visual and cognitive-texting/internet; cognitive only- voice calls; audio only-listening to music) while crossing the road was collected. Results indicated that about 20% of the sample had high exposure to smart phone use while crossing, especially 18-30year olds who were significantly more likely than other age groups to report frequent exposure. TPB constructs of Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioural Control significantly predicted intentions to use a smart phone while crossing the road, accounting for 62% of variance in Intentions for the entire sample, and 54% of the variance for 18-30year olds. Additional variables of Mobile Phone Involvement and Group Norms provided an additional significant 6% of the variance explained for both groups. Attitude was by far the strongest predictor for both the whole sample and for 18-30year olds, accounting for 38% and 41% explained variance, respectively. This suggests that pedestrians with positive attitudes towards using their smart phones while crossing the road have stronger intentions to do so. Moreover, high exposure was associated with stronger intentions to use a smart phone while crossing, and the effect was large, suggesting high frequency mobile phone use may lead to riskier habits, such as failing to interrupt use while crossing the road. Interventions should target pedestrians under 30 years old and aim to strengthen negative attitudes towards using smart phones while crossing, or to challenge the perceived advantages or emphasise the disadvantages of using one's phone while crossing in order to reduce intentions to do so. Young people's perceptions that others in their social group approve of smart phone use while crossing could also be an important factor to address.

Risk factors of mobile phone use while driving in Queensland: Prevalence, attitudes, crash risk perception, and task-management strategies

“…The current sample also had a lower proportion of men than women which may limit its generalisability to the wider male population. However, the proportion seems typical to similar studies in Queensland [ 44 ]. Next, although this study assessed both psychological and physiological personal variables, there are other environmental variables that influence mobile phone usage while driving, such as heavy traffic and urbanization [ 29 ].…”

Accident risk associated with smartphone addiction: A study on university students in Korea

“…The demanding manual process of using a smartphone also impairs a driver’s performance by removing one or both hands from the steering wheel (i.e., manual distraction) ( Head, Helton, Russell, & Neumann, 2012 ). Finally, these three types of distractions can be accompanied by cognitive interferences that take the user’s mind off of his/her current activity (e.g., causing cognitive distraction) ( Lennon, Oviedo-Trespalacios, & Matthews, 2017 ; Young, 2012 ). Furthermore, due to the multi-functioning features of smartphones, using a smartphone can concurrently produce these distractions, thereby increasing the risk of accidents ( Shah, 2002 ; Young & Salmon, 2012 ).…”

Extent of mobile phone use by pedestrians on controlled crossings in central Hobart, Tasmania

“…A study of 405 university students found that there was a perception that they could compensate for the negative effect of mobile phone distractions while crossing (Jiang et al, 2016). These studies are suppported by evidence from studies of teenagers (13 to 18 years) that found teens were at high risk because of frequent use of mobile phones while walking, and group norms encourage mobile phone use while crossing the road (Lennon et al, 2017).…”