Articles
Human factors articles for attorneys
One plain-language article for each specialty: what the concept is, how it bears on driving, and the questions a human factors expert witness can address in an accident case.
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Distracted Driving
Cell phones, texting, voice-to-text and in-vehicle technology
How visual, manual and cognitive distraction from a cell phone or in-vehicle technology can bear on what a driver noticed and when.
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Perception-Reaction Time
Time to detect, recognize, decide and respond
What perception-reaction time covers, why it is not a single fixed value, and how the conditions of a crash bear on the time a driver needed.
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Hazard Detection and “Looked But Failed to See”
Inattentional blindness and noticing hazards
Why a hazard being visible is not the same as a hazard being noticed, and how inattentional blindness bears on a driver's account.
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Nighttime Visibility and Conspicuity
Seeing, noticing and recognizing after dark
The difference between an object being visible and being recognized at night, and what lighting, contrast and glare contribute.
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Looming and Closing Speed
Rear-end collisions with slow or stopped vehicles
Why a driver can see a vehicle ahead yet be slow to realize how quickly the distance to it is closing.
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Gap Judgment and Acceptance
Left turns, crossing and pulling out into traffic
How drivers judge whether a gap in traffic is long enough to turn or cross, and why that judgment can be wrong.
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Traffic Signs and Control Devices
Visibility and comprehension of signs, signals and markings
Whether a sign, signal or marking could be seen, read and understood in time for a driver to act on it.
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Driver Expectancy and Positive Guidance
What the road leads a driver to expect
How a road's layout, signs and markings shape what drivers expect, and what follows when the road does not match.
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Young and Novice Drivers
Experience, hazard recognition and risk perception
How driving experience relates to scanning, hazard recognition and response, and the limits of applying group research to one driver.
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Impaired Driving and Driver Performance
Alcohol, attention and driver performance
How alcohol and other impairment affect attention, visual search and reaction time, and why impairment and causation are separate questions.
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These articles are general information, not legal advice or an expert opinion on any matter. See the disclaimer.