Abstract
In Austria, distraction and carelessness are the number one cause of accidents. This affects all types of travel modes. The use of smartphones makes a significant contribution to distraction in road traffic. While the issue of car drivers and adult pedestrians has already been investigated in numerous publications, the extent of the problem and its impact on children and adolescents walking on foot is hardly known. Within the framework of an explorative study, almost 2,800 crossing events of school children in front of an educational center in the city of Vienna (Austria) were observed and analyzed. The results show that 44% of the pupils observed were engaged in some kind of use or were visibly holding a mobile phone in their hands when crossing the street at the unsignalized intersection. The results underline the need for training to educate children and adolescents about safe behavior in road traffic.
Highlights
Pedestrian traffic plays a central role in mobility for all age groups
The results show that 44% of the pupils observed were engaged in some kind of use or were visibly holding a mobile phone in their hands when crossing the street at the unsignalized intersection
The subject matter is relatively well documented among adults, which is why some places are already using targeted campaigns and penalties for distracted behavior, the same problem is not sufficiently explored among children and adolescents, especially with regard to the still incomplete development of traffic skills among young age groups
Summary
Pedestrian traffic plays a central role in mobility for all age groups. Especially children show high shares of walking trips. In the city of Vienna, the share of walking trips of up to 14-year-old children is even 36% (Omnitrend GmbH, 2020). In this age group, between 1995 and 2013/14 in Austria the share of walking has decreased by 15 percentage points for the benefit of carpassenger trips (increase of 12 percentage points) (Tomschy et al, 2017). They belong to the age groups most frequently injured in pedestrian accidents in Austria (Statistics Austria, 2018) This can be attributed to the fact that (i) children and adolescents in Vienna are primarily on foot and (ii) to the developmental psychological and physiological characteristics of young pedestrians (chapter 2), which lead to a generally increased risk of road traffic accidents. The use of mobile devices and the associated distraction poses an additional hazard in road traffic (Education Group GmbH, 2017)
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