Abstract
The four papers in this symposium all deal with events and accidents in surface transportation systems which display a continuing condition. The recurring aspect of these events allows patterns to emerge, associated environmental conditions to be reviewed and demographics to be considered. Human factors/ergonomics analyses and some suggested remedial actions are included for each of the accident types. All four papers deal with elements related to forensic and litigation contexts and provide insights, information and techniques for human factors practitioners in this field. Some observations and insights into the U.S. legal system are also included.
The specific topics dealt with in this symposium are: 1) Automatic shoulder belt/manual lap belt restraint systems in late model automobiles and their effect on users and accidents, 2) Pedestrian accidents, repeating patterns, and the need for lawyer, prosecutors, and judges to be more sophisticated in the limitation of both drivers and pedestrians in these situations, 3) Individuals falling out of moving passenger trains in both the U.S. and the U.K. and Amtrak's response, and 4) Misconceptions about how the expectancies of drivers affect their detection and perception of objects in night driving conditions.
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