Walking and Talking: The Effect of Smartphone Use and Group Conversation on Pedestrian Speed

Lexie Walsh, Tingsen Xian, David Levinson and Hema Rayaprolu
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Hema Rayaprolu: TransportLab, School of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney

No 2022-01, Working Papers from University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group

Abstract: Distracted walking due to smartphone use is on the rise resulting in growing concern over pedestrian safety and well-being. Our study measured the walking speeds of pedestrian groups differentiated by their smartphone use in two different environments - a wide pedestrian bridge at a university, and a narrow footpath on a busy commercial street. The results show that groups of people, phone users, and often followers of phone users, walk significantly slower than solo walkers uninfluenced by phone. Especially on the narrow street, people in groups and phone users are seen to not only slow themselves down but also slow the people walking behind them.

Keywords: Walking; Smartphones; Socializing; Pedestrian Speed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Published in TeMA – Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment. 12(3), 283-294.

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http://hdl.handle.net/2123/18775 First version, 2020 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nex:wpaper:walkingandtalking

DOI: 10.6092/1970-9870/6088

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