The relationship between attention and pedestrian skills was examined for 95 children (aged 6.5 years, 8.6 years and 10.4 years) and 33 adults. Using a road-crossing task presented using computer animation, pedestrian ability to decide when to cross a road was assessed. Pedestrian skills measured were unsafe crossings, missed opportunities to cross safely, and starting delay (time taken to begin crossing). Attention was measured using the Stroop test for resistance to interference. The effect of distractions on pedestrian task performance was also examined. A significant age effect was observed for all three pedestrian task measures, mainly due to the relatively poor performance of the youngest children. Very few unsafe crossings were made by children and adults, indicating a cautious approach. The youngest children also had the highest rate of missed opportunities. The youngest age group had a significantly longer starting delay than adults indicating that 6- to 7-yr old children require more time to process information relating to when to cross a road. A significant gender effect was observed for unsafe crossings and starting delay, with a higher rate of unsafe crossings and shorter starting delay for males than females. The effect of distractions on pedestrian task performance depended on the pedestrian measure and type of distraction. The ability to resist interference was related to pedestrian skill for 8- to 9-yr-olds and 10- to 11-yr-olds but not for 6- to 7-yr-olds and adults. Results were discussed in relation to road-safety education.

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