The Impact on Mobile Phone use on Pedestrian Road Crossing Behaviour

Abstract

Mobile phone use at pedestrian crossings has been recognized as a growing problem in the field of traffic safety. The objective of the paper is to analyze the impact of mobile phone use at pedestrian crossings considering specific territory. Signalized and unsignalized intersections are observed in the study. Several factors having the impact on unsafe pedestrian crossing behaviour are identified such as: age, location and the type of mobile phone using. The model of unsafe pedestrian behaviour based on displayed mobile phone use while crossing the intersection is constructed. It has been shown in this research that talking and texting on mobile phone distract pedestrians. Listening to music does not affect pedestrians to behave unsafely because it requires less cognitive activity than talking or texting. Also, location affects the pedestrian crossing behavior. The results of this research can serve the purpose of preventing the mobile phones use and reduce the negative impact on pedestrian crossing behavior.