Walking and talking: The effect of smartphone use and group conversation on pedestrian speed
Abstract
Distracted walking due to smartphone use is on the rise resulting in growing concern over pedestrian safety and well-being. Our study measured the walking speeds of pedestrian groups differentiated by their smartphone use in two different environments - a wide pedestrian bridge at a university, and a narrow footpath on a busy commercial street. The results show that groups of people, phone users, and often followers of phone users, walk significantly slower than solo walkers uninfluenced by phone. Especially on the narrow street, people in groups and phone users are seen to not only slow themselves down but also slow the people walking behind them.
Downloads
References
Bouterse L. & Wall-Scheffler C. (2018). Children are not like other loads: a cross-cultural perspective on the influence of burdens and companionship on human walking. PeerJ. 6:e5547. doi: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5547
Bungum T.J., Day C., & Henry L.J. (2005). The association of distraction and caution displayed by pedestrians at a lighted crosswalk. Journal of Community Health. 30(4):269–279. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-005-3705-4
Chandra S. & Bharti A.K. (2010). Speed distribution curves for pedestrians during walking and crossing. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 104:660–667. doi. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.160
Clark-Carter D., Heyes A., & Howarth C. (1986). The efficiency and walking speed of visually impaired people. Ergonomics. 29(6):779–789. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00140138608968314
Finnis K.K. & Walton D. (2008). Field observations to determine the influence of population size, location and individual factors on pedestrian walking speeds. Ergonomics. 51(6):827–842. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130701812147
Fitzpatrick K., Brewer M., & Turner S. (2006). Another look at pedestrian walking speed. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. (1982):21–29. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198106198200104
Franˇek M. (2013). Environmental Factors. Influencing Pedestrian Walking Speed. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 116(3):992–1019. doi: https://doi.org/10.2466/06.50.PMS.116.3.992-1019
Haga S., Sano A., Sekine Y., Sato H., Yamaguchi S., & Masuda K. (2015). Effects of using a smart phone on pedestrians’ attention and walking. Procedia Manufacturing. 3:2574–2580. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.564
Helbing D., Moln´ar P., Farkas I.J., & Bolay K. (2001). Self-organizing pedestrian movement. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design. 28(3):361–383. doi: https://doi.org/10.1068/b2697
Hyman Jr I.E., Boss S.M., Wise B.M., McKenzie K.E., & Caggiano J.M. (2010). Did you see the unicycling clown? Inattentional blindness while walking and talking on a cell phone. Applied Cognitive Psychology. 24(5):597–607. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1638
Levine R.V. & Norenzayan A. (1999). The Pace of Life in 31 Countries. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 30(2):178–205. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022199030002003
Lopresti-Goodman S.M., Rivera A., & Dressel C. (2012). Practicing safe text: the impact of texting on walking behavior. Applied Cognitive Psychology. 26(4):644–648. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.2846
Moussa¨ıd M., Perozo N., Garnier S., Helbing D., & Theraulaz G. (2010). The walking behaviour of pedestrian social groups and its impact on crowd dynamics. PloS one. 5(4). doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010047
Mwakalonge J., Siuhi S., & White J. (2015). Distracted walking: Examining the extent to pedestrian safety problems. Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition). 2(5):327–337. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2015.08.004
Nasar J., Hecht P., & Wener R. (2008). Mobile telephones, distracted attention, and pedestrian safety. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 40(1):69–75. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2007.04.005
Nasar J.L. & Troyer D. (2013). Pedestrian injuries due to mobile phone use in public places. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 57:91–95. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2013.03.021
Ortiz N.C., Ramnarayan M., & Mizenko K. (2017). Distraction and road user behavior: an observational pilot study across intersections in Washington, DC. Journal of Transport & Health. 7:13–22. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2017.05.362
Papa E. (2008). Subway & Skyway System: Sustainable Infrastructure for Walking? TeMA. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment. 1(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/186
Rahaman K.R., & Louren¸co J. (2010). Pedestrian Planning in City Centers: a Study of Guimarães and Braga. TeMA Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment. doi: ttps://doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/134
Roy Dholakia R. (1999). Going shopping: key determinants of shopping behaviors and motivations. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. 27(4):154–165. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/09590559910268499
Stavrinos D., Byington K.W, & Schwebel D.C. (2011). Distracted walking: Cell phones increase injury risk for college pedestrians. Journal of Safety Research. 42(2):101–107. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2011.01.004
Schwebel D.C., Stavrinos D., Byington K.W., Davis T., O’Neal E.E., & De Jong D. (2012). Distraction and pedestrian safety: How talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music impact crossing the street. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 45:266–271. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.07.011
Shbeeb L., & Awad W. (2013) . Walkability of School Surroundings and its Impact on Pedestrian Behaviour. Tema Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment. pp.171–188. doi: https://doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/1608
Smith D.C., Schreiber K.M., Saltos A., Lichenstein S.B., & Lichenstein R. (2013). Ambulatory cell phone injuries in the United States: an emerging national concern. Journal of Safety Research. 47, 19–23. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2013.08.003
Soltani A., Pour M.H., Sholeh M., & Zare P. (2018). The Development of a Walkability Audit. Based on Iranian Cities Pedestrian Environment. TeMA. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment. 95–108. doi: https://doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/5468
Tanaboriboon Y., Hwa S.S., & Chor CH. (1986). Pedestrian characteristics study in Singapore. Journal of transportation engineering. 112(3), 229–235. doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-947X(1986)112:3(229)
Taylor B.D., Ralph K., & Smart M. (2015). What explains the gender gap in schlepping? Testing various explanations for gender differences in household-serving travel. Social Science Quarterly. 96(5), 1493–1510. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12203
Tarawneh M.S. (2001). Evaluation of pedestrian speed in Jordan with investigation of some contributing factors. Journal of Safety Research. 32(2), 229–236. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4375(01)00046-9
Thompson L.L., Rivara F..P, Ayyagari R.C., & Ebel B.E. (2013) Impact of social and technological distraction on pedestrian crossing behaviour: An observational study. Injury Prevention. 19(4), 232–237. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040601
Timmis, M. A., Bijl, H., Turner, K., Basevitch, I., Taylor, M. J., & van Paridon, K. N. (2017). The impact of mobile phone use on where we look and how we walk when negotiating floor based obstacles. PLoS one, 12(6). doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179802
Walmsley D.J. & Lewis G.J.(1989) The Pace of Pedestrian Flows in Cities. Environment and Behavior. 21(2):123–150. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916589212001
Copyright (c) 2019 TeMA - Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following:
1. Authors retain the rights to their work and give in to the journal the right of first publication of the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons License - Attribution that allows others to share the work indicating the authorship and the initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors can adhere to other agreements of non-exclusive license for the distribution of the published version of the work (ex. To deposit it in an institutional repository or to publish it in a monography), provided to indicate that the document was first published in this journal.
3. Authors can distribute their work online (ex. In institutional repositories or in their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and it can increase the quotations of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access)