The hazards of pedestrian mobile-phone use when crossing signalized intersections, Iran (2017); an observational study

Background: Distracted walking is a major cause of pedestrian fatalities. Along with the expansion and popularity of mobile phones, their impacts on pedestrian safety, especially when crossing urban intersections have attracted a lot of attention. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of mobile-phone use on pedestrians’ crossing behavior when passing signalized intersections. Materials and Methods: An observational study was conducted to compare the behavior of pedestrians using mobile phones (the reference group) with non-mobile phone pedestrians (the time-matched control group and the demographic-matched control group) crossing signalized intersections in 2017. For this purpose, the demographic information and walking behaviors of 513 pedestrians were observed. Furthermore, a binary logistic regression model was used to predict risky behaviors. Results: Using mobile phones has a direct impact on the unsafe behavior of pedestrians crossing signalized intersections. Mobile-phone users showed significantly less safe behavior (14.6 times) than non-mobile phone users (p <0.001). Using mobile phones to talk had the greatest impact on the vulnerable behavior of pedestrians (p <0.001). SMS conversations and listening to music were in the next positions, respectively (p = 0.283). Conclusions: Using mobile phones can often lead to the carelessness of pedestrians and their exposure to the possible risk of pedestrian-vehicle crashes. Applying the findings of the present research requires effective technologies and strategies to prevent the use of mobile phones by pedestrians at signalized intersections.