Do you have a bad habit of looking at your phone when you cross the road?

Head bent over, he was scrolling through Instagram on his smartphone while crossing Holland Avenue, confident drivers would stop at the traffic light when the green man appeared.

The pedestrian, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ng, 25, said he knew it was dangerous and admitted he was being complacent about road safety, but he couldn’t help himself.

He wasn’t the only road user fixated on his device. Over the past week, The Straits Times observed dozens of pedestrians doing the same thing across four locations.

About 30 of them knew it was dangerous to look at their phones while crossing the road, but they said it was a hard habit to break. They also felt they were being careful enough.

Last month, The Straits Times reported that a 52-year-old pedestrian died after being hit by a car at the junction of Aljunied Road and Sims Avenue.

In his findings, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said the deliveryman, who was using his phone at a traffic light, could have seen jaywalkers through his peripheral vision and followed them when a car struck and killed him.

He found the death to be a traffic-related misadventure. 

Over the past week, ST observed pedestrians at Yishun Ring Road outside Khatib MRT station, Battery Road in the Central Business District (CBD), Holland Avenue in front of Holland Road Shopping Centre, and the traffic crossing between Ngee Ann City and Paragon at Orchard Road.

Mr Ng, who was crossing the road at Holland Avenue, admitted what he was doing was unsafe, but said: “It’s a natural reflex. When I get pinged on my phone, my finger goes to Instagram before I know it.”

Ms Yunis Haziqah, 23, a retail assistant crossing Orchard Road, was scrolling TikTok and wearing noise-cancelling AirPods.

She said: “Even though I’m using my phone, I look left and right, making sure cars have stopped.”

At Yishun Ring Road during the morning peak hour, and at Battery Road during lunchtime, ST also observed jaywalkers engrossed with their phones even though there was heavy traffic.

Some drivers were forced to slow down for the distracted pedestrians, and one woman even squeezed between two double-decker buses while looking at her smartphone.

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A jaywalker, who wanted to be known only as Ms Ellaine, 21, was texting friends and listening to music on noise-cancelling headphones.

She said she had almost been run over twice before while wearing the headphones and looking at her phone, and did not know if drivers were honking at her.

But she said: “Other people are doing it, so I can also do it safely.”

At Battery Road, about 20 jaywalkers said they were using social media and e-mail apps.

Mr Vivek Singh, 39, who works at a bank and was looking at his phone, said: “I’ve worked in the CBD for 10 years. I feel comfortable using my phone while walking because I’m familiar with the area.”

However, knowing your surroundings may not be enough.

Mr Bernard Tay, chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council, said: “Some drivers may not follow traffic rules even at traffic lights and might not stop in time. Pedestrians should not take things for granted, even if they have the right of way.”

He added that parents can teach their children that looking at phones while crossing the road would make them less aware of their surroundings and more prone to accidents.

Dr Nina Powell, senior psychology lecturer at the National University of Singapore, said an individual’s attention is split when he uses the phone, and that would make him underestimate the risks of being distracted on the road.

But dopamine hits from phone notifications make us want to use them more, she said.

She said: “Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure. Notifications trigger dopamine release, and motivate us to do more of what causes the release, like checking your phone.”

In October 2022, MP Murali Pillai asked Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam a parliamentary question on whether the Ministry would consider introducing legislation to prevent pedestrians from crossing the road whilst interacting with their mobile devices.

In a written statement, Mr Shanmugam said this might not be practical and said a better approach was to foster good road safety habits and personal responsibility. 

In his coroner’s findings, Mr Nakhoda said it was too common to see pedestrians crossing at zebra crossings and signalised pedestrian crossings while looking at their mobile devices.

He said: “It has to be emphasised that this can be dangerous. While crossing a road, pedestrians should always ensure that they look up from their mobile devices and ensure that the oncoming traffic has come to a halt before crossing the road.”

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.