Human Factors in Traffic Safety

There are more than 175 million licensed drivers in the United States. Combined with the many pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and other road users, this creates an interesting mix of elements with very different characteristics. Moving these elements efficiently and safely to their destinations presents a major challenge, particularly in densely populated areas. This book will provide guidance in how to identify these elements in your collision investigations. The authors introduce you to the ways in which designers of vehicles and roadways historically often did not take into account the full range of road user characteristics. The book discusses the substantial improvements in design principles and standards achieved over the years due to the concerted effort by concerned individuals interested in roadway and vehicle design and its impact on traffic safety.Most importantly, this book introduces you to the behavior of the road user. Driver limitations and driver or pedestrian error are the major factors in traffic accidents, contributing to about 90% of roadway crashes. Driver behavior, however, is often the most complex and yet least understood element in the roadway system. A wide variety of perspectives on human factors and driver behavior are covered ranging from the design of roads, vehicles and traffic control devices to emotional and motivational determinants of driver behavior. Many traffic safety experts have contributed to this book in order to give you a comprehensive introduction to human factors as it pertains to driver and pedestrian behavior and traffic safety. This new edition has been extensively revised, and contains new chapters on driver education and driver distraction. If you are involved with accident investigation or the promotion of traffic safety in any capacity, this book is an essential part of your library.