Safe Walk: A Serious Game for Exploring Environmental Distractions Affecting Pedestrian Safety

Understanding the impact of distracting factors on pedestrian safety is crucial for reducing accidents. This study investigates how urban video advertisements influence pedestrian behavior amidst competing visual stimuli. We employed a true experimental design, utilizing eye-tracking technology wit...

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Main Authors: Yoones A. Sekhavat, Joseph Mani, Seyed Vahid Mostafavi, Samad Roohi, Yazdan Movahedi, Liu Zhen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Serious Games Society 2025-07-01
Series:International Journal of Serious Games
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/993
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author Yoones A. Sekhavat
Joseph Mani
Seyed Vahid Mostafavi
Samad Roohi
Yazdan Movahedi
Liu Zhen
author_facet Yoones A. Sekhavat
Joseph Mani
Seyed Vahid Mostafavi
Samad Roohi
Yazdan Movahedi
Liu Zhen
author_sort Yoones A. Sekhavat
collection DOAJ
description Understanding the impact of distracting factors on pedestrian safety is crucial for reducing accidents. This study investigates how urban video advertisements influence pedestrian behavior amidst competing visual stimuli. We employed a true experimental design, utilizing eye-tracking technology within a simulated environment to assess participants' visual behavior in the presence of video advertisements. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three scenarios, and we compared attention direction using both an eye-tracker and a virtual reality headset. The eye-tracking data captured from a two-dimensional screen was translated into three-dimensional coordinates for accurate representation in the VR environment. Our findings reveal a significant preference for monitoring vehicular traffic over video advertisements, confirming that participants prioritize safe navigation over engaging with distractions. This research advances the state of the art by demonstrating the reliability of eye-tracking in capturing attentional focus and highlighting the effectiveness of simulated environments for studying pedestrian behavior. The results have important implications for urban planning and safety measures, emphasizing the need to consider environmental distractions in the design of urban spaces
format Article
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institution DOAJ
issn 2384-8766
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Serious Games Society
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series International Journal of Serious Games
spelling doaj-art-e22ddb973f37442e8914a20e9259b4442025-08-20T02:47:25ZengSerious Games SocietyInternational Journal of Serious Games2384-87662025-07-0112310.17083/02xf3365Safe Walk: A Serious Game for Exploring Environmental Distractions Affecting Pedestrian SafetyYoones A. Sekhavat0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3654-9583Joseph Mani1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3011-1735Seyed Vahid Mostafavi2Samad Roohi3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4747-5452Yazdan Movahedi4Liu Zhen5Modern College of Business and ScienceModern College of Business and ScienceFaculty of Multimedia, Tabriz Islamic Art UniversityLa Trobe UniversityFaculty of Multimedia, Tabriz Islamic Art UniversityNingbo University Understanding the impact of distracting factors on pedestrian safety is crucial for reducing accidents. This study investigates how urban video advertisements influence pedestrian behavior amidst competing visual stimuli. We employed a true experimental design, utilizing eye-tracking technology within a simulated environment to assess participants' visual behavior in the presence of video advertisements. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three scenarios, and we compared attention direction using both an eye-tracker and a virtual reality headset. The eye-tracking data captured from a two-dimensional screen was translated into three-dimensional coordinates for accurate representation in the VR environment. Our findings reveal a significant preference for monitoring vehicular traffic over video advertisements, confirming that participants prioritize safe navigation over engaging with distractions. This research advances the state of the art by demonstrating the reliability of eye-tracking in capturing attentional focus and highlighting the effectiveness of simulated environments for studying pedestrian behavior. The results have important implications for urban planning and safety measures, emphasizing the need to consider environmental distractions in the design of urban spaces https://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/993serious gamePedestrian SafetyEnvironmental DistractionsWalking Simulator
spellingShingle Yoones A. Sekhavat
Joseph Mani
Seyed Vahid Mostafavi
Samad Roohi
Yazdan Movahedi
Liu Zhen
Safe Walk: A Serious Game for Exploring Environmental Distractions Affecting Pedestrian Safety
International Journal of Serious Games
serious game
Pedestrian Safety
Environmental Distractions
Walking Simulator
title Safe Walk: A Serious Game for Exploring Environmental Distractions Affecting Pedestrian Safety
title_full Safe Walk: A Serious Game for Exploring Environmental Distractions Affecting Pedestrian Safety
title_fullStr Safe Walk: A Serious Game for Exploring Environmental Distractions Affecting Pedestrian Safety
title_full_unstemmed Safe Walk: A Serious Game for Exploring Environmental Distractions Affecting Pedestrian Safety
title_short Safe Walk: A Serious Game for Exploring Environmental Distractions Affecting Pedestrian Safety
title_sort safe walk a serious game for exploring environmental distractions affecting pedestrian safety
topic serious game
Pedestrian Safety
Environmental Distractions
Walking Simulator
url https://journal.seriousgamessociety.org/index.php/IJSG/article/view/993
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AT samadroohi safewalkaseriousgameforexploringenvironmentaldistractionsaffectingpedestriansafety
AT yazdanmovahedi safewalkaseriousgameforexploringenvironmentaldistractionsaffectingpedestriansafety
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