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We often hear the statistic that “94% of all motor vehicle accidents are due to human error.” It’s an oft-repeated fact and the cornerstone of many arguments for getting more autonomous vehicles onto our roadways. But is this “fact” true? Short answer: No. Long answer: it’s complicated. The “94%” does indeed come from real research. … Continued

A good deal of autonomous vehicle research—and certainly the bulk of AV and ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) reporting—focuses on how AVs interact with traffic on the individual and group level or how vehicle owners interact with their ADAS-equipped vehicles. But there is more to the world than the ownership. Improving road safety goes far beyond … Continued

No conversation about autonomous vehicles (AV) and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) gets far without celebrating its potential for decreasing human misery. Estimates of traffic fatality reductions in the neighborhood of 75–80% are not uncommon (see, for example, Liu, P., Yang, R., and Xu, Z., “How safe is safe enough for self-driving vehicles?”, 2019, in the … Continued

It’s become abundantly clear that, as vehicles themselves become more capable of taking on routine driving tasks, human factors research has become even more critical for roadway safety. An increasing number of “autonomous” and ADAS-Enhanced (advanced driver-assistance system) vehicles are entering the market and joining us on roadways. Unfortunately, surveys have found that roughly half … Continued

It’s generally accepted that “speed kills.” Urban or rural, single vehicle or multi-vehicle, with or without pedestrians: both the risk of a crash and the severity of that crash increases with speed. What we don’t understand is the interplay of speed, aggressiveness, and time pressure. Advanced immersive simulators are making it possible for driving research … Continued

Even as driver’s education has become more comprehensive and rules around driving for young adults more stringent, the rate of serious accidents is still quite high. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, new teen drivers are three times more likely to be involved in a deadly crash than more experienced drivers. Driver distraction … Continued

We all know that distracted driving is dangerous. One popular (and extremely hard to source) “fact” often attributed to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is that “texting and driving is six times more dangerous than drunk driving.” And even if that isn’t an actual demonstrable fact, it certainly feels right. Many U.S. agencies … Continued