The effect of distractors on starting-delay, missed opportunities and unsafe crossings of children and adults in a simulated pedestrian crossing task

The aims of the research were to investigate the effect of distractors on the pedestrian skills of children and adults. The pedestrian skill of deciding when it is safe to cross a road (decision-making skill) was assessed by a computer-presented simulated pedestrian task. It was predicted that distractors would reduce the performance of all age groups, with the reduction being greater for younger children. The pedestrian skills of Grade 2, Grade 4 and Grade 6 children and adults were assessed in three conditions, without distractors, with on-screen distractors and with off-screen distractors. The results showed that off-road distractors, whether visual or auditory, increased the starting-delay of all age groups. There was no significant difference between off-road-visual and off-road-auditory distractors for any age group except for Grade 6 children. Off-road-auditory distractors increased starting-delay more than off-road-visual distractors for Grade 6 children. Furthermore, off-road and on-road distractors increased the number of missed opportunities for Grade 2 children. On-road distractors increased the number of missed opportunities of Grade 4 and Grade 6 children. The increase was greater for Grade 6 children. The number of unsafe crossings was higher in the condition without distractors. Overall, decision-making skills were vulnerable to distractors. The degree of vulnerability differed depending on age and the specific measures of pedestrian skill.