Using Bluetooth Beacon Technology to Reduce Distracted Pedestrian Behavior

Summary

Over 4,800 American pedestrians die annually, a figure that is current increasing. One hypothesized reason for the increasing trend in pedestrian injuries and deaths is the role of mobile technology in distracting both pedestrians and drivers. The investigators propose to develop and then evaluate Bluetooth beacon technology as a means to alert and warn pedestrians when they are approaching dangerous intersections, reminding them to attend to the traffic environment and cross the street safely rather than engaging with mobile technology. One aspect of the research will involve a crossover research trial to evaluate efficacy of the program.

Bluetooth beacons are very small (about the size of a dime) and inexpensive (\~$20 range) devices that broadcast information unidirectionally (beacon to smartphone) within a closed proximal network. The investigators propose placing beacons at intersection corners (e.g., on signposts) frequently trafficked by urban college students. The beacons will transmit to an app installed on users' smartphones, signaling users to attend to their environment and cross the street safely. The app will be developed to be flexible based on user preferences; for research purposes, the app also will download data concerning the users' behavior while crossing the street. The crossover trial will evaluate the app with a sample of about 411 young adults whose behavior is monitored for: (a) 3 weeks without the app being activated, (b) 3 weeks with the app activated, and then (c) 6 weeks without the app activated to assess retention of behavior. Throughout the 12 week period, the investigators will monitor user behavior at multiple intersections around campus, along with gathering self-report questionnaire perceptions and behavior at baseline and 12-week post-intervention assessments.

Conditions

• Health Behavior

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

beacon alerts

alerts via unidirectional communication from beacons to smartphones when smartphones are approaching pedestrian crossing at activated intersection

BEHAVIORAL

no alerts retention

no alerts will appear, but we will measure retention of behavior learned during the active intervention stage

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  collaborator NIH

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Alabama at Birmingham

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• David C Schwebel, PhD · University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

25 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-08-15

Primary Completion

2019-12-21

Completion

2019-12-21

Countries

• United States

Study Locations