Last month, a coroner’s inquiry heard the case of a pedestrian who had been struck by an automobile and died while crossing the road with his eyes fixed on his smartphone. Why do pedestrians adopt this type of risky behaviour?
A pedestrian who wanted to be known only as Mr. NG, 25, was scrolling through Instagram on his smartphone with his head bent over while crossing Holland Avenue. He admitted that he knew it was dangerous and was being complacent about road safety, but said that he could not help himself, and was confident that drivers would stop at the traffic light when the green man appeared. He called it a natural reflex and said that his finger goes to Instagram before he knows it.
He was not the only road user who was fixated on his device. The Straits Times observed several pedestrians over the past week who were doing the same thing, across four locations. About 30 of them admitted that they knew that what they did was dangerous, but said it was hard to break the habit, and felt they were being careful. The Strait Times reported that a 52-year-old pedestrian died last month after being hit by an automobile at the junction of Sims Avenue and Aljunied Road.
State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said in his findings, that the death of the deliveryman who was using his mobile phone at a traffic light was ruled a traffic-related misadventure.
Over the past few weeks, pedestrians have been observed at Holland Avenue in front of Holland Road Shopping Centre, at the traffic crossing between Ngee Ann City and Paragon at Orchard Road, Battery Road in the Central Business District (CBD), and Yishun Ring Road outside Khatib MRT station. Ms. Yunis Haziquah, 23 a retail assistant who was crossing Orchard Road while scrolling TikTok and wearing noise-cancelling AirPods said that even though she uses her phone, she looks left and right ensuring that cars have stopped.
About 20 jaywalkers have been observed at Battery Road during lunchtime, and at Yishun Ring Road during the morning peak hour, engrossed with their phones even though there was heavy traffic, who said they were using email and social media apps.
A jaywalker who only wanted to be known as Ms. Elaine, 21, was texting and listening to music on noise-cancelling headphones. She said she had been almost run over twice before, but said that since others are doing it, she too can do it safely.
Some drivers were compelled to slow down for the distracted pedestrians, and one woman even squeezed between two double-decker buses while staring at her smartphone. Mr. Vivek Singh, 39, who worked at a bank and was staring at his mobile phone said that he has worked in the CBD for 10 years, and feels comfortable using his phone while walking as he is familiar with the area, which, however, may not be safe enough.
Chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council, Mr. Bernard Tay said that some drivers may not follow traffic rules and may not stop in time even at traffic lights. Pedestrians should therefore not take things for granted even if they have the right of way. He also added that parents could teach their children the hazards of looking at phones while crossing roads.
A senior psychology lecturer at the National University of Singapore, Dr. Nina Powell, said that when he uses a mobile phone an individual’s attention is split, and even though that would make him underestimate the risks of being distracted on the road, dopamine hits from phone notifications and make people want to use them more. She said that dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure and that notifications trigger dopamine release, motivating us to do more of what causes the release, like checking our mobile devices.
MP Murali Pillai asked K. Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs a parliamentary question in October 2022, on whether the Ministry would consider introducing legislation to prevent pedestrians from interacting with their mobile devices while crossing the road. Mr. Shanmugam said in a written statement that this may not be practical and that a better approach would be to foster personal responsibility and good road safety habits.
Mr. Nakhoda said in his coroner’s findings that it was very common to observe pedestrians crossing at zebra crossings and signalized pedestrian crossings while looking at their mobile phones. He said that it should be emphasized that this could be dangerous. Pedestrians should always make sure that they look up from their mobile phones and ensure that the oncoming traffic has halted prior to crossing the road.
