Texting and crossing: An extended theory of planned behaviour to model the psychological and demographic factors related to pedestrians' use of cell phone for texting at crosswalks in developing country

Abstract

The distraction of road users is one of the leading causes of road crashes. In general, distraction in road crashes is often associated with only driving, not walking, however, several studies have highlighted distracted walking as a major cause for road crashes and have also examined distracted walking behaviour and its causes, but there is a paucity of such kind of literature in the context of developing or low-income countries, such as India. This study sought to fill this gap by examining factors that influence pedestrians' use of cell phones for texting while crossing the roads in the city of Bhopal, India. In the present study analysis of psychological factors and socio-economic factors that contribute to distracted walking/crossing was analysed using an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM), this study confirmed the validity of items under each factor of the TPB and then employed SEM to investigate the relationship between the latent variables (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behaviour control), and demographic characteristics (age, income, and gender) of pedestrians with their intention to text while crossing the street. The results obtained from SEM indicated that the intention to use cell phones for texting at crosswalks was negatively impacted by age, and positively impacted by income level. A significant influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behaviour control was found on the intention to use cell phones. Perceived behaviour control (PBC) was found as the most influential factor for predicting pedestrian intentions to use cell phones, followed by Subjective norms (SN). In addition, perceived behaviour control and the intention to use a cell phone also significantly affected crossing behaviour. The findings from the present study can significantly contribute to enhancing pedestrian safety in transportation research, and a better understanding of the factors contributing to pedestrian fatalities could lead towards safe system approach.