THE EFFECTS OF MOBILE PHONE USE ON TRAFFIC SAFETY

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1415-1420
Author(s):  
Vojislav Krstić ◽  
Stefan Mladenović

With the expansion of offered content and applications in mobile phones, the risk of using mobile phones while driving increases. This problem is getting more and more important worldwide. Nowadays, increasing attention is being paid to traffic safety indicators as it has been proven that there is a strong correlation between the consequences of traffic accidents and traffic safety indicators. One of these indicators is the mobile phone use while driving. Operating vehicles require drivers' full attention. Therefore, the use of a mobile phone while driving is a major problem. Using a mobile phone draws driver's attention and causes behavioral changes that negatively affect the traffic safety. The use of mobile phones while driving is an ongoing problem of traffic safety and is associated with an increased risk of participation in traffic accidents. In addition to the harmful effects from the medical aspect, one of the more important negative effects of the mobile phone is the negative impact on traffic participants. The negative impact of the phone on traffic safety is reflected in the fact that their use while driving hinders the driver's attention. Even with automated actions, the degree of event detection is severely reduced. The degree of impact of mobile phone use on driving performance depends on the moment and situation at that moment. The commitment to the conversation is yet another factor that affects the driving quality. The combination of these two factors can have extremely damaging effects on driving. The phones can distract the driver's attention in three ways: while the driver is looking for the phone, takes the phone to receive or make a call, or writes or reads the message. In these situations, he cannot properly hold the steering wheel or gearbox – hence is not fully aware of the road nor traffic around, and cannot fully control the vehicle. If speaking, the driver is not fully focused on driving because tracking conversations diminishes the attention and perception of traffic around. This problem has been recognized long time ago worldwide, and many studies have been conducted on a given subject which have been influencing drivers to reduce the need for mobile phones. There are many approaches and various measures that can be taken: preventing and educating participants in traffic about the negative effects of the mobile phone use while driving, campaigning, repressive and coercion measures, applying new technologies . . . Accepting the right behavior is the key to solving the problem, since it is impossible to sanction everyone at any given time. Drivers need to understand that mobile phone usage threatens their safety, as well as of other participants in the traffic.

Author(s):  
Aleksandar Gavrić ◽  
Saša Džigerović ◽  
Belmin Avdić ◽  
Goran Bošnjak ◽  
Suzana Miladić-Tešić

Mobile phone use at pedestrian crossings has been recognized as a growing problem in the field of traffic safety. The objective of the paper is to analyze the impact of mobile phone use at pedestrian crossings considering specific territory. Signalized and unsignalized intersections are observed in the study. Several factors having the impact on unsafe pedestrian crossing behaviour are identified such as: age, location and the type of mobile phone using. The model of unsafe pedestrian behaviour based on displayed mobile phone use while crossing the intersection is constructed. It has been shown in this research that talking and texting on mobile phone distract pedestrians. Listening to music does not affect pedestrians to behave unsafely because it requires less cognitive activity than talking or texting. Also, location affects the pedestrian crossing behavior. The results of this research can serve the purpose of preventing the mobile phones use and reduce the negative impact on pedestrian crossing behavior.


Author(s):  
Zoi Tsimtsiou ◽  
Anna-Bettina Haidich ◽  
Anastasios Drontsos ◽  
Fotini Dantsi ◽  
Zafiria Sekeri ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose This study investigated the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) and cyberbullying and examined profiles of adolescents with increased risk to develop pathological behaviors. Methods In this cross-sectional, school-based study, 8053 students of 30 middle and 21 high schools (12–18 years old) were invited to participate, based on a multistage stratified random sampling technique. The Internet aiddiction test (IAT) was used along with information on socio-demographics, Internet activities and cyberbullying experience. Results Five thousand five hundred and ninety students participated (response rate 69.4%). Pathological Internet use (IAT ≥50) was found in 526 (10.1%), while 403 (7.3%) experienced cyberbullying as victims and 367 (6.6%) as perpetrators during the last year. In multivariable models, the odds of IA increased with online hours on mobile phones and Internet use during weekends, Internet café visits, chatrooms usage and engagement in cyberbullying. Cyberbullying victims were more likely to be older, female, Facebook and chatrooms users, while perpetrators were more likely to be male, older Internet users and fans of pornographic sites. A perpetrator was significantly more likely to have also been a victim [odds ratio (OR) = 5.51, confidence interval (CI): 3.92–7.74]. Hours of daily Internet use on a mobile phone was independently associated with IA and cyberbullying (OR) 1.41, 95% CI 1.30, 1.53 and OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01, 1.21, respectively. Conclusions Cyberbullying is associated with IA and the hours spent online on a mobile phone affected both conditions. The increasing Internet access through mobile phones or other devices should be accompanied by the appropriate education of both parents and adolescents on safe Internet use.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 381-388
Author(s):  
Hualong Zhang ◽  
Cunbao Zhang ◽  
Feng Chen ◽  
YuanYuan Wei

Using mobile phones can be a source of distraction for pedestrians when crossing streets, it is especially dangerous at unsignalized intersections. To investigate the effects of mobile phone use on pedestrian crossing behavior and safety at unsignalized intersections, we carried out a field survey at three selected locations in Wuhan, China. Then, the pedestrians’ crossing behavior characteristics were statistically analyzed, and a logistic regression model was established to quantitatively analyze pedestrian safety. The results showed that 15.6% of pedestrians used mobile phones when crossing unsignalized intersections and 64.1% of them were young pedestrians. Pedestrians using mobile phones while crossing unsignalized intersections were at higher risk of accident, crossed more slowly, and were less likely to look at traffic status than those not using a mobile phone. Moreover, the probability of conflicts when watching the screen, talking, and listening to music are 2.704, 1.793, and 1.114 times greater, respectively, than those who do not use a mobile phone.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Wyche ◽  
Nightingale Simiyu ◽  
Martha E. Othieno

Increases in mobile phone ownership and Internet access throughout Africa continue to motivate initiatives to use information and communication technologies (ICTs)—in particular, mobile phones—to address long-standing socioeconomic problems in the “developing world.” While it is generally recognized that mobile phones may help to address these problems by providing pertinent information, less widely known is exactly how (and if) a handset’s human–computer interface—that is, its software and hardware design—supports this form of communication. The concept of “affordances” has long been used to answer such questions. In this paper, we use Hartson’s definition of affordances to qualitatively investigate rural Kenyan women’s interactions with their mobile phones. Our detailed analysis provides empirically grounded answers to questions about the cognitive, physical, and sensory affordances of handsets used in our field sites and how they support and/or constrain mobile communication. We then discuss the implications of our findings: in particular, how this affordance-based approach draws attention to mobile phones’ design features and to the context in which they and their users are embedded—a focus which suggests new design and research opportunities in mobile communication.


2020 ◽  
pp. 176-181
Author(s):  
S.G. Berntsson ◽  

The incidence of adult primary brain tumors is increasing in some European countries. High-dose ionizing irradiation, rare genetic syndromes, and genetic predisposition in 5 % of families are a few established environmental risk factors for brain tumor. Mobile phone use that causes near brain exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic waves and thus creates risks of CNS tumors has been the focus of many studies. Nine meta-analyses were available on this subject. The Interphone multi-center case-control study is the largest one to date; it included 2.708 glioma and 2.409 meningioma cases and matched controls in 13 countries. Studies exploring metals (cadmium, lead), pesticides, outdoor pollution, virus, and risk of glioma created by exposure to them were reviewed. Interphone study did not show increased risk of glioma or meningioma in mobile-phone users. One recent meta-analysis in 2017 found that prolonged exposure i.e.,> 10 years of all phone types was associated with increased risk of ipsilateral CNS tumor locations. In another meta-analysis, long-term use of mobile-phones was found to be a risk factor for low-grade glioma. In case of all durations regarding mobile phone use and both sides of the head, the results of pooling data were more discordant. A large prospective study in 2014 showed that long term use vs never use increased risks of acoustic neurinoma (10+ years: RR = 2.46, 95 % CI = 1.07–5.64, P = 0.03), but not of glioma or meningioma. Studies of other risk factors showed no/weak/contradictory association with brain tumor risk. In the absence of robust and consistent evidence, a causal relation between radiofrequency exposure and CNS tumors was not found. Large prospective studies of this kind regarding a disease with low incidence require a high number of participants and a long follow-up period.


2014 ◽  
Vol 488-489 ◽  
pp. 1130-1133
Author(s):  
Yuan Bai ◽  
Xiao Dong Tan

At present, the automobile industry is developing rapidly, the private car is widely popularized, and the hidden dangers of traffic safety exist. The phenomenon of drunk driving and fatigue driving becomes more and more serious, and the improvement for steering wheel could effectively prevent traffic accidents. This paper introduces and analyzes the intelligence of steering wheel in three major aspects, they respectively include intelligent grip detection, which tests if a driver is of fatigue driving; hart rate detection, which tests if a driver is in normal driving condition; alcohol detection, which tests if a driver drinks too much, and it predicts the possibility of accident from the drivers state, and timely gives out signal to warn the driver.


Author(s):  
Stephen Lwasa ◽  
Narathius Asingwire ◽  
Julius Juma Okello ◽  
Joseph Kiwanuka

As the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is embraced in Uganda, determinants of awareness of ICT based projects remain unknown. The intensity of use of mobile phones among smallholder farmers in the areas where such projects operate is unclear. To address this knowledge gap, 346 smallholder farmers in two ICT project sites in Mayuge and Apac districts were subjected to econometric analysis using bi-variate logistic and zero-inflated negative binomial regression models to ascertain determinants of projects’ awareness and intensity of use of mobile phones. The authors find that education, distance to input markets, and membership in a group positively influence awareness. The decision to use a mobile phone for agricultural purposes is affected by distance to electricity and land cultivated and negatively influenced by being a member of any farmer group. Lastly, intensity of mobile phone use is affected by age, farming as the major occupation, and distance to an internet facility, being a member of a project, having participated in an agricultural project before, value of assets, size of land cultivated, possession of a mobile phone, and proximity to agricultural offices. The paper discusses policy implications of these findings.


Author(s):  
Seung-Hyun Lee

From being a simple communication technology to a key social tool, the mobile phone has become such an important aspect of people's everyday life. Mobile phones have altered the way people live, communicate, interact, and connect with others. Mobile phones are also transforming how people access and use information and media. Given the rapid pervasiveness of mobile phones in society across the world, it is important to explore how mobile phones have affected the way people communicate and interact with others, access the information, and use media, and their daily lifestyle. This article aims to explore the social and cultural implications that have come with the ubiquity, unprecedented connectivity, and advances of mobile phones. This article also focuses on the discussion about people's dependence on, attachment and addiction to mobile phones, social problems that mobile phones generate, and how people value mobile phone use.


Author(s):  
Lai Lei Lou

Although mobile phones have proved to be lifesaving in certain circumstances, wide concerns have been raised about brain tumors associated with their use. This article systematically reviews previous and current research in regards to mobile phone use and brain tumors. Recently, research (more than 10 years mobile phone use or cumulative mobile phone use more than 1640 hours) has been found that the amount of exposure to mobile phone radiation plays a key role in determining the significant associations between mobile phone use and gliomas, and acoustic neuroma. In general, those who use mobile phones for more than ten years, or cumulative call time for more than 1640 hours, have higher risks to develop brain tumors, especially glioma and acoustic neuroma, than those who use mobile phones for less than one year.


Author(s):  
Ali Acilar

Mobile phones are one of the fastest-adopted innovations in history. Globally, mobile phones have rapidly become widespread in most parts of the world, especially among the young generation. Young people constitute an important and significant part of mobile phone users. In this study, the author examined the factors affecting mobile phone use among undergraduate students in a developing country. The research data was collected through a convenience sample of undergraduate students in a public university in Turkey. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the underlying factors in mobile phone use. Nine factors are identified from the results of factor analysis such as “Information,” “Attitude,” “Mobility,” “Functional service,” “Entertainment/Relaxation,” “Convenience,” “Fashion,” “Sense of security,” and “Multimedia service”.


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