A group of Nanyang Technological University students have conducted Singapore's first-ever survey on mobile phone usage while walking, or distracted walking.

The survey was carried out on 419 youth aged 17 to 25 and found that 93 per cent admitted to 'multi-tasking while walking' despite 84 per cent acknowledging that doing so was dangerous.

Among those surveyed, 598 accidents were reported due to distracted walking. This ranged from minor mishaps like falling, to collisions with other pedestrians, and traffic accidents with vehicles.

Text messaging while walking accounted for 39 per cent of accidents, the biggest cause of distracted walking accidents. This was triple that of watching videos with earphones, which was found to be the next biggest cause.

The survey was part of a campaign “Look Up, Look Out” and marked the first available statistics that shed light on pedestrian accidents resulting from mobile communication device usage. The campaign, partnered with NTUC Income, and supported by the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Road Safety Council, hopes that people will put away their devices when they are on the roads.

The students have been visiting education institutions to raise awareness and have also produced a quirky video clip to spread awareness on distracted walking: