Improving the safety of young pedestrians using educational videos

Pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable road users. All over the world, 23% of road crashes involve pedestrians (Nikolaou et al. 2022). One of the major reasons for pedestrian crashes are distractions, especially mobile phone distraction. Pedestrian crashes related to mobile phone distractions are predominant among young pedestrians. This research aims to enhance pedestrian safety among young pedestrians using educational video. The research provides a systematic literature review, an evaluation of pedestrians’ perceived risk of distraction and an evaluation of the effectiveness of educational video in enhancing pedestrian safety. To evaluate this research, a survey was conducted to measure the effectiveness of educational video in enhancing pedestrian safety. The survey questionnaire was designed using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Extended Parallel Process Method (EPPM). The survey was distributed primarily among young pedestrians aged 18-24, along with other age groups for comparison. To evaluate the results, statistical analyses were carried out through the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and Correlation analysis. Regarding behavioural data, around one-third of participants engaged in some kind of mobile phone distraction. Upon showing the educational video, participants reported that the video was helpful in increasing their intention to change their behaviour. Around 60% of the participants agreed that the educational video was able to increase their intention to be not distracted by their mobile phone while walking or crossing the road. In future, it is suggested that more educational videos with stronger message should be introduced to pedestrians over longer period of time to change the behaviour of pedestrians.