The new technology of Human Factors Engineering would improve the design of roads by changing them to achieve a better match with human capabilities. The driver's informational requirements are studied so that better ways may be devised of satisfying them. The amount of information the driver must process- his informational load is also of interest. The driving job should be interesting enough to keep the driver alert, and not so heavy as to cause degradation of performance. Accidents are symptomatic of faulty system functioning and are best studied in the context of normal driving. The possibility of accidents may be indicated in vigilance experiments by long reaction and lack of response to new requirements on transportation. If highway speed continues to increase, steering, braking and acceleration. may be automatic.
Abstract