Integrating Human Factors Methods and Systems Thinking for Transport Analysis and Design

Description

Governments and road safety agencies around the world have either introduced or are considering 'safe system' strategies, a long overdue acknowledgement that different elements of the road system contribute to road safety outcomes. Human factors approaches have a leading role here in both conceptualising the road system as a complex sociotechnical system and in providing practical approaches to support true systems-based countermeasures. This book illustrates the potential for integrating contemporary systems-based human factors methods with modern day driving-assessment methods, such as vehicle instrumentation and driving simulation, to understand and enhance performance in modern day road-transport systems. The book outlines why a fundamental paradigm shift is needed in the way these systems are designed and operated, and illustrates how a wide range of accepted human-factors approaches can be applied successfully to road transport to revolutionise the countermeasure design process. The practical illustrations of these human factors methods are applied to a long-standing road and rail safety issue: rail level crossings, where the road and rail systems intersect. The final chapter of the book highlights the utility of the human factors approach to reducing road trauma and discusses future applications of the approach Content: Table of contentsPart 1: Introduction to the research approachChapter 1 - Systems thinking in transport analysis and designChapter 2 - An overview of key human factors approaches and methods Chapter 3 - An integrated framework for transport analysis and design Part 2: Rail level crossing data collection and analysisChapter 4 - Understanding the current systemChapter 5 - A systems analysis of rail level crossingsPart 3: Design of new rail level crossing environmentsChapter 6 - A participatory approach to designing novel rail level crossingsChapter 7 - Evaluating initial design concepts using the systems modelsChapter 8 - Design refinementPart 4: Evaluation of design conceptsChapter 9 - Experimental evaluation of novel design conceptsChapter 10 - Evaluation of novel design concepts by all road usersPart 5: Conclusions and future applicationsChapter 11 - Summary and conclusionsChapter 12 - Future applications and opportunitiesAppendix - Guidance for using the key human factors methods and approaches