Strolling has well being and environmental advantages – nevertheless it’s not all the time an individual’s selection for getting round. And it does include hazards. One fifth of the folks killed on the roads globally are pedestrians.
In Ghana, like different creating international locations, strolling is the principle mode of journey. A 2012 survey discovered that 64.4% of the workforce went to work on foot.
Ghana’s Nationwide Highway Security Authority reported 2,930 pedestrians had been knocked down in 2021 and 831 died.
Pedestrians are susceptible for a number of causes. The design of street infrastructure is one. Analysis has proven that the absence of sidewalks forces pedestrians into the street, exposing them to motorised transport that heightens the danger of site visitors crashes and accidents.
Dangerous in-traffic pedestrian strolling behaviour can be an element. Consuming alcohol, chatting with others, and utilizing a cell phone all heighten the danger of accidents.
As transport geographers we got down to uncover what distracts pedestrians in Accra’s primary enterprise district. Our research found that the usage of cellular gadgets, poorly designed infrastructure and superior age all performed a task. We propose the town wants pedestrian pleasant infrastructure and native legal guidelines to control strolling behaviour.
Digital gadgets distract pedestrians
We selected to review the central enterprise district of the capital, Accra, because it accounts for 57.6% of pedestrian accidents throughout the Accra Metropolitan Meeting. It additionally information excessive foot site visitors, being a serious financial hub in Ghana.
The research engaged 400 commuters. We requested respondents to rank numerous actions they generally engaged in whereas strolling. A five-point scale indicated the extent of their engagement in these actions.
The respondents’ prime 4 distracting actions concerned utilizing digital gadgets like cell phones. Listening to music on a cell phone emerged as the foremost distraction: 79% of respondents ranked it as their most typical distractive exercise. Making or receiving telephone calls and conversing with different folks whereas strolling (2nd and third) adopted. Looking the web on cell phones ranked 4th, and was widespread amongst these aged 9-24 and 27-42.
Who’s distracted?
The research additionally indicated that intercourse, age, stage of schooling, occupation, causes for strolling and weekly time spent strolling had been vital predictors of distractions.
Male pedestrians had been greater than twice as more likely to have interaction in distractive actions. That is per the expectations of some behaviour consultants.
On age, the info revealed a big affiliation between commuters aged 49-59 and distracted strolling. A rising physique of literature has recognized older folks as participating in distracted strolling since they’re much less more likely to estimate their strolling setting precisely. Even taking a look at signage or objects of curiosity, shopping for objects, or conversing with different pedestrians might enhance their danger of harm.
Respondents with senior highschool schooling (9 years of primary schooling) had been additionally extra susceptible to distraction. Proof exhibits that most Ghanaians finish their schooling at this stage. Working within the casual economic system as hawkers or in different companies encroaching on sidewalks, individuals are more likely to compete with pedestrians for area or run after transferring automobiles to promote their wares.
Relative to respondents who walked just for brief journeys, respondents who walked as a part of their job recorded a far larger probability of participating in distractive behaviour. Most of their day is spent strolling, engaged in actions like gross sales or advertising, offering a courier service, or hawking.
Lastly, time allotted to strolling made a distinction to behavior. Whether or not weekly or each day, respondents who devoted extra time to strolling within the CBD had been extra more likely to stroll in a distracted method.
Security plans
Accra already has a pedestrian security motion plan, nevertheless it focuses on the constructed setting quite than on behaviour. This research advised the plan ought to embody a coverage assertion on pedestrian strolling behaviour.
The Accra Metropolitan Meeting (the executive authority) can enact legal guidelines proscribing pedestrians from listening to music with headphones, making telephone calls whereas crossing roads or participating in unwarranted conversations.
Moreover, the Nationwide Highway Security Authority and Ghana Police Service ought to collaborate on instructional outreach programmes on all media platforms. They need to give attention to the hazards and causes of distractive strolling.
Interventions like these supply the prospect to scale back pedestrian accidents in Accra.
