In one way or another, human factors play a role in almost all road accidents. For designing a safe traffic and road environment, it is important to take human capabilities and limitations into account : man as the measure of all things. This paper briefly summarizes traffic safety from a road users' point of view, gives a general description of the driving task, of the human information processing cycle (perception, processing, decision-making and handling) and of how people conduct tasks. Moreover, it focuses on individual characteristics and the main differences among people in relationship with accident risk. The paper gives insight in the human functioning in traffic and indicates how this knowledge can contribute to avoid or to solve traffic safety problems. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting