What's that on Your Phone? Effects of Mobile Device Task Type on Pedestrian Performance

Area of Science:

• Human-computer interaction
• Transportation safety
• Cognitive psychology

Background:

• Rising accidents linked to distracted pedestrians prompt public policy changes.
• Pedestrian mobile device use extends beyond texting, encompassing various multitasking behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how different mobile device task types affect pedestrian performance.
• To analyze the cognitive demands and safety implications of pedestrian multitasking.

Main Methods:

• Two laboratory simulation studies involving 78 participants.
• Participants performed various mobile tasks (gaming, reading, emailing, texting) while walking or standing on a treadmill.
• Collected behavioral and neurophysiological data to assess performance outcomes.

Main Results:

• Multitasking with any mobile device task significantly degraded pedestrian visual discrimination performance compared to a no-phone control.
• Playing mobile games proved to be the most cognitively demanding task, resulting in the most substantial performance decline.
• Different mobile tasks exhibited varying degrees of negative impact on pedestrian performance.

Conclusions:

• Mobile device multitasking poses a significant risk to pedestrian safety, irrespective of the specific task.
• The impact of mobile device use on pedestrian safety is task-dependent, necessitating further research.
• Developing safer mobile applications and targeted interventions requires a deeper understanding of task-specific effects.