Wheelchair and Phone use During Single File Pedestrian Movement

Crowd movement studies often use controlled conditions and participants without disabilities. While this approach is reliable, it does not fully reflect real-world conditions and the influence of physical ability as well as secondary tasks. This study examined how these factors affect the headway-speed relationship in single-file movement, including pedestrians and two wheelchair users. Participants followed an experimenter and sometimes engaged in a secondary task (using a phone). Results showed that wheelchair users maintained a constant speed and kept longer minimal headway compared to pedestrians. The secondary tasks did not affect the headway-speed relationship. More research is needed on the implications of mobility profiles and secondary tasks for pedestrian movement in diverse conditions.