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Cell phone use while walking escalates pedestrian safety risks, particularly among students, given their heavy reliance on these devices. Psychological factors wield significant influence on individual behavior, particularly among adolescents who navigate a blend of rational and social-reactive pathways in decision-making. Therefore, this paper employs the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) to scrutinize psychological determinants of students' cell phone use while walking, drawing on data from 368 valid samples. Structural equation modeling (SEM) dissects the impact of psychological constructs on this behavior, highlighting the significance of both the social response and reasoning pathways within PWM. The study comprehensively analyzes direct, indirect, and overall effects of exogenous variables on behavioral intention and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell phone usage may impair a driver’s decision-making at a dilemma zone. This research seeks to identify the impact of cell phone usage on different dilemma zone driver behaviors. Participants were exposed to different driving situations in a simulator where they had a phone call while driving through signalized intersections. A combination of variables was collected; therefore, this research estimates Classification and Regression Tree (CART) and stepwise logistic regression models to describe the factors influencing dilemma zone driver behavior. While the logistic regression models focus on the overall impact of the variables, the CART model develops subpopulations based on the variables’ impact. Cell phone usage, especially incoming calls on a handheld device, and the overall experiment appear to encourage conservative behavior where the drivers opt to stop even when they are “expected” to go. Unfortunately, when the drivers decide to go, they tend to make the wrong choice and run the red light. Using hands-free devices on outgoing calls appears to reduce the likelihood of performing an illegal maneuver. This represents a potential opportunity for future policy and technological advancements to improve intersection safety by only permitting outgoing hands-free calls on arterials.

The objective of this study was to identify biomechanical measures that can distinguish texting distraction in a laboratory-simulated driving environment. The goal would be to use this information to provide an intervention for risky driving behaviour. Sixteen subjects participated in this study. Three independent variables were tested: task (texting, visual targeting, weighted and non-weighted movements), task direction (front and side) and task distance (close and far). Dependent variables consisted of biomechanical moments, head displacement and the length of time to complete each task. Results revealed that the time to complete each task was higher for texting compared to other tasks. Peak moments during texting were only distinguishable from visual targeting. Peak head displacement and cumulative biomechanical exposure measures indicated that texting can be distinguished from other tasks. Therefore, it may be useful to take into account both temporal and biomechanical measures when considering warning systems to detect texting distraction. Practitioner Summary: Text-message distraction while driving has been associated with an alarming and growing number of injuries and fatalities. This study identified potential biomechanical indications that could potentially serve as a warning with the intent of reducing crashes from texting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of cell phones in the general population has become increasingly commonplace. The distracting effects of cell phones among automobile drivers are well established, and legislation prohibits the use of handheld cell phones while driving in several states. Recent research has focused on the similar distracting effects of cell phones in the pedestrian population. In this report, an older gentleman suffered extensive facial trauma requiring surgery as a direct effect of cell phone use at the time the trauma occurred. This case highlights the role that portable electronic devices can play as a cause of ocular trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell phone usage may impair a driver's decision-making at a dilemma zone. This research seeks to identify the impact of cell phone usage on different dilemma zone driver behaviors. Participants were exposed to different driving situations in a simulator where they had a phone call while driving through signalized intersections. A combination of variables was collected; therefore, this research estimates Classification and Regression Tree (CART) and stepwise logistic regression models to describe the factors influencing dilemma zone driver behavior. While the logistic regression models focus on the overall impact of the variables, the CART model develops subpopulations based on the variables' impact. Cell phone usage, especially incoming calls on a handheld device, and the overall experiment appear to encourage conservative behavior where the drivers opt to stop even when they are "expected" to go. Unfortunately, when the drivers decide to go, they tend to make the wrong choice and run the red light. Using hands-free devices on outgoing calls appears to reduce the likelihood of performing an illegal maneuver. This represents a potential opportunity for future policy and technological advancements to improve intersection safety by only permitting outgoing hands-free calls on arterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]