Investigators from University of Florida Release New Data on Risk Management (Risk Perception and Distraction Engagement With Smart Devices In Different Types of Walking Environments): Risk Management

2021 NOV 12 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Data detailed on Risk Management have been presented. According to news reporting from Gainesville, Florida, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “The present study aims to: 1) determine whether the risks associated with distracted walking are influenced by walking environment by estimating the incidence and severity of phone-related distracted walking injuries; and 2) investigate individuals’ perceptions of distracted walking risk within different walking envi-ronments to understand whether individuals are aware of the potential risks and the manner in which they understand those risks. Distracted walking has been increasingly considered a public safety issue over the past few years.”

Financial support for this research came from University of Florida.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the University of Florida, “Research has focused on understanding the many factors that may influence pedestrians’ engagement with smart-devices in order to address this issue. Risk perception may be one factor that guides engagement decisions but has not been widely studied in the context of distracted walking. Risk perception and the consequences of distracted walking are likely to be impacted by the walking environment, however, current research has typically focused on a subset of locations- streets and intersections. This study used the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a national database of in-juries due to consumer products, to understand the number and severity of distracted walking injuries and lo-cations where it occurred. Phone related injury cases from 2011 to 2019 were extracted and categorized by two independent raters in terms of cause of injury and location of injury. An online questionnaire, N = 207, was used to understand how individuals’ perception of risk in five different walking environments (intersections, stair-wells, hallways, pedestrian plazas, and parking lots) were related to distraction engagement. Risk perception was measured through three different framings: risk of distracted walking (i.e., overall risk of engaging with the behavior), risk of collision and risk of falls (e.g., risks associated with the consequences of engaging with the behavior). The NEISS analysis showed an upward trend of distracted walking injuries from 2011 (2184 incidents) to 2019 (4711 incidents) and that the number of injuries differed across the different walking environments. The survey results showed that individuals varied their risk perception levels (risk of distracted walking, collision, and falls) based on the walking environment and distraction status (distraction and no distraction). The rela-tionship between overall risk of distracted walking and the risks of the different consequences (falls & collision) differed by walking environment.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Finally, significant negative correlations were found between risk perception and actual distraction engagement for each location.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Risk Perception and Distraction Engagement With Smart Devices In Different Types of Walking Environments. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2021;162. Accident Analysis & Prevention can be contacted at: Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Accident Analysis & Prevention - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/accident-analysis-and-prevention/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Wayne Chi Wei Giang, University of Florida, Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 1949 Stadium Rd, Weil Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2021.106405. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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