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

Urban environments increasingly integrate digital advertising, raising concerns regarding how these visual stimuli impact pedestrian safety. By utilizing a virtual reality simulator developed in Unity, researchers investigated the relationship between environmental distractions and situational awareness. The study employed a post-test experimental design involving 40 participants, leveraging eye-tracking technology and VR headsets to monitor gaze behavior, movement patterns, and collision incidents across various traffic scenarios. This methodology confirms that virtual environments provide a reliable and highly immersive platform for behavioral analysis, offering superior levels of presence compared to traditional screen-based simulations.

The findings indicate that pedestrians maintain a robust prioritization of safety, consistently focusing their visual attention on vehicular traffic rather than environmental distractions. Statistical analysis reveals no significant correlation between exposure to video advertisements and an increase in accident rates or compromised safety. Instead, participants demonstrate a persistent ability to filter out non-essential visual stimuli in favor of navigation and collision avoidance, suggesting that human cognitive processes are well-adapted to managing urban distractions during transit.

These results provide valuable insights for urban planners tasked with designing safer pedestrian infrastructure. By validating the efficacy of VR and eye-tracking as research tools, the study establishes a framework for future investigations into human behavior within complex urban settings. While current data suggests that environmental advertisements do not inherently jeopardize pedestrian safety, further research incorporating longitudinal studies and advanced hardware is necessary to understand how adaptive behaviors and habituation evolve over extended periods. This work ultimately supports the development of evidence-based urban design strategies that balance commercial interests with the fundamental requirements of pedestrian safety.