Distracted Pedestrian Behavior on two Urban College Campuses

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Urban Planning
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Pedestrian injuries and fatalities are rising in the U.S., with an estimated 180,000 injuries and 6,000 deaths annually.
• Distracted pedestrian behavior is a suspected contributor to the increasing rates of pedestrian injury.
• Urban college campuses represent high-risk environments due to concentrated pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the types and prevalence of distractions among pedestrians on urban college campuses.
• To examine how pedestrian distraction impacts street-crossing safety and behavior.
• To inform the development of interventions and policies to mitigate distracted pedestrian risks.

Main Methods:

• In vivo behavioral coding was used to observe 10,543 pedestrians over two weeks on two urban college campuses.
• Data collection focused on identifying distractions and assessing street-crossing behaviors, such as looking for traffic.
• Observations captured pedestrian demographics, distraction types (headphones, texting, phone calls), and gender-specific behaviors.

Main Results:

• Over one-third of observed pedestrians were distracted while crossing roadways, with 90% being young adults.
• Headphones (19%) were the most frequent distraction, followed by texting (8%) and phone calls (5%).
• Distracted pedestrians were less likely to look for traffic before entering roadways; women texted/called more, men wore headphones more.

Conclusions:

• Distracted pedestrian behavior is prevalent on urban college campuses, posing a significant safety risk.
• The increasing use of handheld devices necessitates targeted behavioral interventions and policy considerations.
• Environmental modifications and policy changes are recommended to reduce pedestrian risk in busy urban areas.