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Observational Study
. 2022 Oct;70(7):2135-2142.
doi: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1845182. Epub 2020 Dec 1.

Distracted mobile device use among street-crossing college student pedestrians: an observational approach

Andrew J Piazza  1 , Adam P Knowlden  1 , Elizabeth Hibberd  1 , James Leeper  2 , Angelia M Paschal  1 , Stuart Usdan  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Distracted mobile device use among street-crossing college student pedestrians: an observational approach

Andrew J Piazza et al. J Am Coll Health. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo estimate the incidence of mobile device use among street-crossing pedestrians and explore differences by sex and intersection type at a large public South-eastern university in the United States.ParticipantsAll instances of campus pedestrians crossing the street during the observation period (N = 4,878).MethodsVideo recordings of crosswalk activity at four locations were analyzed for pedestrian use of a mobile device while crossing.ResultsDevice use while crossing was observed 1,201 (24.6%) times. Of male crossing instances, 277 (16.8%) were coded as using a device. Of female instances, 924 (28.6%) were coded as using a device. Differences in device use while crossing were found between sexes and some intersection types.ConclusionsThis study estimates mobile device use while crossing the street and suggests differences by sex and intersection type. Future research should focus on improving understanding of the problem and evaluation of interventions to address the issue.

Keywords: Distracted pedestrian; distracted street crossing; mobile device distraction; pedestrian observation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of The University of Alabama.

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