Abstract
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users in the traffic system and thousands of pedestrians are injured or killed globally as a result of traffic crashes every year. With their popularity and enriched functions, mobile phones are playing an increasingly important role in people’s lives, and records of vehicle crashes involving pedestrians have shown the hazards caused by distraction of mobile phone use, especially in the context of crossing the street. The present study employed the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the behavior of using a mobile phone while crossing the street in China. An online questionnaire based on the TPB framework was developed to collect data, and 387 eligible samples were retained after inspection. Mobile phone use while crossing the street is prevalent in China (i.e., 53%). The results show that three standard TPB constructs (i.e., attitudes, intention and perceived behavioral control) emerged as significant predictors of the behavior of using mobile phone while crossing, and two extended constructs (i.e., situation, mobile phone involvement) also significantly predicted the behavior. In addition, for this population, intention was the strongest predictor of the behavior among these significant constructs. Moreover, the results were discussed and compared with some existing studies and safety interventions were also provided.
Highlights
Traffic accidents that cause casualties are a major threat to public health worldwide.Thousands of pedestrians are killed in motor vehicle crashes each year
Specific to pedestrians’ mobile phone use while crossing, Piazza et al [33] surveyed 480 undergraduate students aged from 18 to 24 years using a questionnaire, the results showed that three constructs of theory of planned behavior (TPB)(attitudes toward the behavior, perceived behavioral control (PBC), subjective norms (SN)) significantly predicted the intention to use a mobile device while crossing street, attitudes emerged as the strongest predictor while PBC
A total of five constructs emerged as significant predictors for the actual behavior, including three standard TPB constructs and two extended constructs
Summary
Thousands of pedestrians are killed in motor vehicle crashes each year. In China, for example, 15,123 pedestrians were killed and 31,683 were injured in 2015, representing 26.07%. Of the traffic fatalities and 15.85% of the traffic injuries, respectively [1]. In the past 10 years, the amount of pedestrians involving injuries and fatalities accounts for more than 30% of total casualties in motor vehicle crashes in urban areas [2]. In the U.S, it was reported 5987 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2016, which accounted for. 16% of the total traffic fatalities [3]. These statistics all indicate the alarming situation of pedestrian safety. It is important to identify the factors that contribute to pedestrian-related crashes
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