Investigating the role of beliefs in influencing the hand-held and hands-free mobile phone use among pedestrians in India. Issue 1 (2nd January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yadav, Ankit Kumar; Choudhary, Sajid Shabir; Pawar, Nishant Mukund; Velaga, Nagendra R.
• Is Part Of: International journal of injury control and safety promotion. Volume 30:Issue 1(2023)
• Page Start: 79
• Page End: 90
• Publication Date: 2023-01-02
• Subjects: Beliefs -- distracted pedestrians -- mobile phone -- theory of planned behaviour; Wounds and injuries -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Wounds and Injuries -- prevention & control -- Periodicals; Consumer Product Safety -- Periodicals; 363.107
• DOI: 10.1080/17457300.2022.2112235
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1745-7300

Abstract

Abstract: Mobile phone distraction is a significant contributor to pedestrian injuries. However, mobile phone engagement among pedestrians has been scarcely explored in a developing country like India. The present study utilized the beliefs-based theory of planned behaviour to examine the association between pedestrian beliefs towards distracted walking (behavioural, normative, and control) and their mobile phone use frequencies. Based on a survey of 560 pedestrians (64.6% males), it was found that the major use of mobile phones was for listening to music (30.7%), followed by receiving a call (25%), making a call (18.9%), texting (9.8%), navigation (8.5%) and internet browsing (7.1%). A series of multivariate ANOVAs and logistic regression models were developed to investigate the relationships between the beliefs and frequencies of mobile phone use in hands-free and hand-held conditions. Significant multivariate differences were found for behavioural and normative beliefs in hands-free conditions and all three types of beliefs in hand-held conditions. The frequency of mobile phone use was significantly predicted by normative beliefs ( p < 0.001) in the hands-free condition, and by behavioural ( p = 0.041) and normative beliefs ( p = 0.004) in the hand-held condition. The findings may assist the road safety countermeasures in addressing the issue of pedestrian distraction.