Human Factors in Traffic Engineering - Prism Web … systems and cell phones, ... •Vehicle...

Human Factors in

Traffic Engineering

Ali Etezady

Daejin Kim

April 20, 2016

CEE 6603 – Traffic Engineering Final Presentation

Introduction ConclusionLiterature Case Study

Introduction

• What is “Human Factors Engineering”

•Science that applies knowledge from psychology, physiology, and kinesiology to the

design of devices and systems for safe and effective human use

•Many applications across the diverse fields of science such as biomedical

engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, etc.

• Human Factors in Transportation engineering

•Human physical, perceptual, and cognitive limitations Potential causes of crashes

•Highway design and design of vehicles

2Introduction


Literature review

• There are numerous studies in literature on the application of human factors

principles in traffic engineering

• Intersections• Bellomo-McGee (2003): evaluating Intersection Collision Avoidance System concepts aimed at reducing the number of high-

crash intersections. Human factors important to the selection and design of infrastructure-based technology were identified as

driver age, vehicle gap acceptance, and response to emergency events

• Bonneson and McCoy (1994): driver understanding of protected and permitted left-turn signal displays. The results showed that

only 70 percent of respondents correctly understood the meaning of Protected and Permitted Left Turn (PPLT) signs, and this

understanding increased among the more educated, and decreased among the more experienced and older drivers.

• Gattis and Low (1997): intersection angle and drivers’ field of view. The results indicated that a minimum intersection angle of

70 to 75 degrees will provide for an improved line of sight and consequently decrease the probability of crashes

3Literature


Literature review

• Speed management• Feng (2001): presented an overview of the research on the relationship between speed and safety. The studies show that drivers

may not always accurately rate their driving behavior, so relying on subjective surveys may not be wise. In addition, weather

has a close relationship with speed and safety because it affects visibility, stability, and controllability of drivers and cars

• Pedestrian and bicyclists

• Nabors et al (2012): the behavior and movement patterns of both cyclists and pedestrians are important predictors in the

occurrence of crashes and should further be investigated

• DaSilva et al. (2003) showed the effect of age and time of day on the frequency of pedestrian crashes. Children and teenagers

tend to have more accidents and more accidents occur at night time when visibility is limited

• Visibility

• Barker et al. (1998) conducted a study on improving the conspicuity of trailblazing signs for incident management. Their results

indicated that using a color combination other than the traditional one will improve driver performance and safety

• Lewin et al. (2003) investigated the use of three different light sources for roadway lighting. The result showed the

interrelationship between lamp spectrum, visibility, and safety

4Literature


Case Study

5Case Study

• Relevant research done by US

government such as NHTSA,

• and some private automobile

companies

• Traffic safety, human’s comfort,

and productiveness of human users

and operators

• Traffic accidents are mainly related

to visibility and unsafe behaviors

Program areas Subcategory

Safety Problem

Identification

Early adopters of technology studies

Naturalistic driving studies

Metric development

Visibility and Lighting

Headlighting

Rear signaling

Vehicle conspicuity

Visibility

Driver Assistance

Warning systems (Forward collision, Lane departure,

Intersection violation warning)

Other driver assistance (ACC, Parking aids)

Reducing Unsafe

Behaviors

Alcohol impairment

Distraction

Teen drivers

Seatbelt and child seat use

Encouraging Fuel Efficient Driving

NHTSA (http://www.nhtsa.gov/Research/Human+Factors)

http://www.nhtsa.gov/Research/Human+Factors


Case Study (Visibility and Lighting)

6Case Study

• Headlighting

• Public complaints about headlamp glare

• Increased risks: two-lane highways and over the age

of 50 (NHTSA 2001)

• Also, glare increases discomfort for drivers

• Rear signaling

• Rear-end crashes account for more than 29 percent

of all crashes (NHTSA 2007)

• Due to a failure to respond (or delays in responding)

to stopped or decelerating lead vehicles

• NHTSA (2010) tested enhanced break lights, and it

shows to somewhat increase drivers’ detection rates

Enhanced break light invented by NHTSA


Case Study (Visibility and Lighting)

7Case Study

• Daytime Running Lights (DRL)

• Arguments that high-intensity DRLs create

problems with glare and turn signal masking and

conspicuity of motorcycles

• Motorcycle rider fatalities increased from 2294 to

5290 between 1998 to 2008 (NHTSA 2010)

• NHTSA suggests enhancing the frontal conspicuity

of motorcycles with lighting treatments

• Backover crashes

• Due to vehicle blind zones, drivers’ inadequate

visual scanning behavior, and drivers’ expectation

that no obstacles are present behind the vehicle

• The victims are frequently young children

• Rearview video systems were invented to help

drivers to widen the rear visibility

Image from: http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/now-the-dutch-want-to-force-drl.htm

Images from: https://www.hoffmannpersonalinjury.com/rearview-video-systems-added-to-list-of-recommended-safety-

technologies/; http://www.gizmag.com/cadillac-video-rear-view-mirror/35302/pictures#4

http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/now-the-dutch-want-to-force-drl.htm

https://www.hoffmannpersonalinjury.com/rearview-video-systems-added-to-list-of-recommended-safety-technologies/


Case Study (Unsafe Behaviors)

8Case Study

• Alcohol Impairment

• 16,694 alcohol-related fatalities in 2004 which is equal

to one alcohol-related fatality every 31 minutes and

representing 39% of the total traffic fatalities for the

year (NHTSA 2004)

• Distinguished by their severity, overrepresentation of

recidivist offenders and certain age groups, and a

disproportionate occurrence at certain times of day

• Table shows alcohol-related crashes are more likely to

result in loss of life and to involve single vehicles

Breath-alcohol ignition interlock device (BAIID)

Solid-state breath alcohol monitors

NHTSA is also considering new technologies to detect

alcohol vapor

Alcohol-Related

Single Vehicle

Alcohol-Related

Multiple VehicleAlcohol-Related Total

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Fatal Crashes

10,307 47 4,661 28 14,968 39

Injury Crashes

92,000 16 76,000 6 168,000 9

Property Damage Only

138,000 11 110,000 4 247,000 6

Pollard J. K., Nadler E. D, and Stearns M.D. (2007)



9Case Study

• Distraction

• Defined as “drivers divert their attention away from

the driving task to focus on another activity instead”

• Main causes: electronic distractions, such as

navigation systems and cell phones, or more

conventional distractions such as interacting with

passengers and eating

• Table shows the relative risk of crashes

The most influential factor is reaching for a moving

object

Looking at external object, reading, applying makeup,

dialing hand-held device, and passenger in adjacent seat

are significant factors

Type of Secondary Task Odds Ratio

Reaching for a moving object 8.82

Insect in vehicle 6.37

Looking at external object 3.70

Reading 3.38

Applying makeup 3.13

Dialing hand-held device 2.79

Inserting/retrieving CD 2.25

Eating 1.57

Reaching for non-moving object 1.38

Talking/listing to a hand-held device 1.29

Drinking from open container 1.03

Other personal hygiene 0.70

Adjusting the radio 0.50

Passenger in adjacent seat 0.50

Passenger in rear seat 0.39

Child in rear seat 0.33

Note: Statistically significant results are colored red

Klauer et al., 2006



10Case Study

• Teen Drivers

• Novice teen drivers have exceptionally high rates of crash involvement (NHTSA 2010). In 2006, 5,658 young drivers

between the ages of 16 and 20 were killed in traffic crashes, and an additional 410,000 were injured (NHTSA, 2007)

• Traditional measurements: driver training, graduated licensing, enforcement, and safety education

• NHTSA is exploring new approach using advanced in-vehicle technologies to monitor novice teen driver’s behavior

• Vehicle Adaptations: Automatically prohibiting behaviors detected, e.g., safety belt interlocks;

• In-Vehicle Feedback: Providing drivers with real time information, e.g., speeding in curves;

• Reporting: Recording behaviors to transmit them at a later time to parents, insurance companies, driver educators, etc.

• Drowsy Driving

• Drowsy driving is a significant contributor to death and injury crashes, accounting for more than 80,000 crashes and 850

fatalities per year (NHTSA 2014)

• Successful detection of drowsiness is a crucial step

• NHTSA’s research showed the feasibility of detecting drowsiness with vehicle-based sensors


Case Study (Human factors in connected vehicle)

11Case Study

• Crash Warning Interfaces

• The human factors issues concern how to integrate

and display all of the information a driver may want

or need in a manner that is safe and usable

• The challenges are that the CV concept may provide

drivers with a large number of safety messages, many

sorts of non-safety information, and a variety of

different design and display concepts implemented by

various manufacturers and developers

Images from: http://www.continental-

corporation.com/www/pressportal_com_en/themes/press_releases/3_automotive_group/int

erior/press_releases/pr_2014_07_14_overview2014_en.html


Conclusion and Future research

• Human factors are widely used in developing vehicle equipment, transportation

facilities and relevant regulations to enhance traffic safety and drivers’ comfort

• The early stage of human factor engineering in the transportation field focused on

physical abilities (e.g. visualization ability) and unsafe behaviors of human

• Nowadays, the human factors engineering in the transportation field has broadened its

research area with the advent of new technologies such as connected vehicle program

• To sum up, this research recommends that engineers and researchers better understand

the impact of human factors on a variety of traffic situations.

• Also, engineers need to understand that many traffic situations are not only affected by

one specific human factor, but also by a combination of several human factors.

12Conclusion

QUESTIONS?

13


1. Barker, J.A., Neale, V.L., and Dingus, T.A. (1998). Improving the Conspicuity of Trailblazing Signs for Incident Management, VTRC 98-CR36.

2. Bellomo-McGee, Inc (2003). Intersection Collision Avoidance Study, Final Report.

3. Bonneson and McCoy (1994). Driver Understanding of Protected and Permitted Left-Turn Signal Displays, Transportation Research Record 1464, pp. 42-

50.

4. Bullough, J.D., Boyce, P.R., Bierman, A., Hunter, C.M., Conway, K.M., Nakata, A., and Figuerio, M.G. (2001). Transportation Research Record 1754,

pp. 42-47.

5. daSilva, M.P., Smith, J.D., and Najm, W.G (2003). Analysis of Pedestrian Crashes, DOT-HS-809-585.

6. Feng, C. (2001). Synthesis of Studies on Speed and Safety, Transportation Research Record 1779, p. 86-92.

7. Gattis, J.L., and Low, S.T. (1997). Intersection Angles and the Driver’s Field of View, Transportation Research Record 1612, pp. 56-72.

8. Holstein, W., Human-factors engineering, Encyclopedia Britannica, Retrieved from: http://www.britannica.com/topic/human-factors-engineering.

9. Highway Safety Manual 1st edition (2010). American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

10. Lewin, I., Box, P., and Stark, R.E (2003). Roadway Lighting: An Investigation and Evaluation of Three Different Light Sources, Final report prepared for

Arizona Department of Transportation, GHWA-AZ-03-522.

11. NHTSA (2011) Effect of Daytime Running Lights On Left Turning Drivers’ Gap Acceptance

12. Pollard J. K., Nadler E. D, and Stearns M.D. (2007). Review of Technology to Prevent Alcohol-Impaired Crashes

13. Klauer, S. G., Dingus, T. A., Neale, V. L., Sudweeks, J. D., Ramsey, D. J. (2006). The Impact of Driver Inattention on Near-Crash/Crash Risk: An

Analysis Using the 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study Data. DOT HS 810 594. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

14. Nabors, D., Goughnour, E., Thomas, L., DeSantis, W., Sawyer, M. (2012). Bicycle Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists, FHWA-SA-12-018.

15. NHTSA (2010) An Exploration of Vehicle-Based Monitoring of Novice Teen Drivers: Final Report

16. NHTSA (2014) Human Factors for Connected Vehicles: Effective Warning Interface Research Findings

17. NHTSA (2014) Assessing the Feasibility of Vehicle-based Sensors to Detect Drowsy Driving

Resources

14

Human Factors in Traffic Engineering - Prism Web … systems and cell phones, ... •Vehicle...

Documents

Transcript of Human Factors in Traffic Engineering - Prism Web … systems and cell phones, ... •Vehicle...