title: Technology-related distracted walking behaviours in Manhattan's most dangerous intersections.
abstract: Use of mobile devices has been cited as a distraction while driving, and more recently, among pedestrians crossing urban streets. In 2010, over half of New York City traffic fatalities were pedestrians. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of distracted walking due to pedestrians' use of headphones, mobile phones, or both. Data were gathered by direct observations at the 10 intersections in Manhattan with the highest frequency of pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions. More than 1 in 4 of the >3500 pedestrians observed were distracted by mobile electronic devices while crossing during the 'walk' (28.8%) and 'don't walk' (26.3%) signals. Poisson regression analyses established there was a significant difference in individuals talking on a mobile device during the 'walk' signal versus the 'don't walk' signal; however, no other significant differences in other distracted walking behaviours were observed. This study contributes to the emerging literature on distracted walking behaviour by pedestrians in busy urban areas and can help to inform pedestrian-focused safety efforts.
authors.affiliation: William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Corey H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Basch
authors.affiliation: Health Education and Promotion, Department of Health Sciences, Lehman College, The City University of New York, New York, Bronx, USA.
authors.forename: Danna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ethan
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Sonali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rajan
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Basch
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D040421:Cell Phone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012449:Safety; D016138:Walking / Q000293:injuries*