This document reports the outcome of the work on creating a human factors framework for traffic management operations in the METHOD project (Managing European Traffic using Human Oriented Design, CEDR call 2013). The work was carried out on the base of literature review and traffic management personnel interviews. The focus was mostly on human factors from the point of view of road users and the results to be used by traffic management operations experts. The main objective was to assist road operators in the introduction of human factors right at the start in future applications of traffic management by developing a framework with recommendations based on the results of the literature review and operator interviews as well as on the previous work carried out in the project. In summary, human factors in dynamic traffic management mean that the road users perceive the signals placed by the road authority in the right way, that they understand the messages, that they are able to act accordingly and that they are also willing to do this. The operator interviews were structured in five parts: Current practices, Guidelines and instructions, Human factors, Future and new systems and Background. The interviews were mostly telephone interviews and six operators from three countries participated. First a use case approach was taken by picturing a typical situation and the actions taken in such a situation, e.g. an incident occurring. Next, the guidelines and instructions for traffic management operators were discussed, following by questions about human factors, their familiarity and presence in the daily work. The operators were also asked about their views of the future and what changes are expected both for the operators’ work and the road users. According to the interviewed operators, the steps taken after incidents are quite similar in all three countries. Incident situations are perceived to work fairly well, as safety is ensured, necessary actions are taken and road users are informed. Guidelines for a number of different situations are available, but most of the learning is done on the job and through discussions with managers and colleagues. The emerging systems and services are seen as very positive by the interviewed operators. They expect their level of physical work to decrease and expect in the future to concentrate more on the actual traffic management. However, expected increases in the amount of incoming traffic data causes some concern. Changes are underway in all three countries with current various systems being integrated under one interface. This is expected to ease the daily work of operators and improve their situational awareness. In general, it can be said that human factors are taken into account in traffic management, but not in a structured way. Some knowledge on human factors exists, but the information is fragmented and not integrated as a standard practice. It does not reach all operators and all levels in traffic management centres. Perception and comprehension seem to be the human factors which currently receive the most attention when traffic management measures are designed. When installing and setting signs care is usually taken to ensure that the signs are perceivable and the messages are readable and understandable. Competence, motivation and behavioural adaptation are not that well covered. Motivation is identified as very important for compliance and efficiency of traffic management measures, but it is currently not easy to take into account. Recommendations for taking human factors into consideration in traffic management were formulated by examining the results of the literature review and operator interviews. In summary, the recommendations identified a need and possibility to better include road user motivation and take into account different individual factors by giving personalised feedback, ensuring sufficient situational awareness of operators and road users, and using common terms and practices. This can be achieved by closer cooperation within all levels of traffic management in each country and internationally. Motivation was identified as an important issue in the human factors consideration steps (perception, comprehension, competence, motivation) because it has not been traditionally addressed that much and it can be influenced with new traffic management services. Basic knowledge about human factors in traffic management should be made available to all personnel involved in the traffic management process. With findings of all information collected in mind, a recommended human factors framework was formed. The goals of traffic management measures aim to ensure safe, reliable and predictable travel. Traffic fluency and safety, emissions and efficient use of network capacity are sought to be optimised. The objectives or goals of traffic management measures consist of a set of measures to be applied for multiple purposes. The term human factors implies transferring knowledge about human abilities, limitations and other human characteristics to the design of equipment, tasks and jobs (NHTSA 2016). The four main types of human factors in transport are defined as perception, comprehension, competence and motivation. In addition, standing apart from these four there are the concepts of behavioural adaptation and unconscious behaviour. Further, the physical and psychological characteristics as well as expectations of different road users are important. Physical characteristics include perception, comprehension and actual skills. Psychological characteristics are for example level of autonomy, perceived competence, relatedness or sense of community, and feedback. Expectations are important because road users base their behaviour on them and are prone to make mistakes if the design of a measure creates wrong expectations. This section also includes variable factors such as the current circumstances in the road environment (such as weather conditions or congestion), the type of trip and the state of the road user (such as personality, health, level of attentiveness). Traffic information is the information on the current state of the transport system both for travellers and road operators. This information can be received from different sources. It includes for example loop data and information from cameras, police or rescue services and road users. It can be distributed to road users by variable signs or in-vehicle devices. Traffic management measures are the measures applied to achieve desired goals of traffic management. Measures can be defined in different ways by technology clusters, desired effect or task of the road operator. Measures are for example to inform, advise, guide and steer road users with use of traffic information, traffic control, incident management, demand management, driver support and fleet and transport management. These measures can be carried out by dynamic speed management, local dynamic warnings, local traffic flow management or network wide traffic flow management. (Author/publisher)
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