Factors Affecting Human Error on Australian Road System

In this paper, I discuss the implication of human factor applying SHELL model in the context of accident toll in NSW roads. As well, I discuss how human factor is affected by technology, policies and procedures, the environmental conditions surrounding the driver of vehicles. In addition, how these variables affect risk taking and inappropriate decision-making, which leads to accidents on roads affecting their attitudes, behavior and motivation. The SHELL Model is used to develop road safety strategies to address accident rate reduction on New South Wales Roads.

Abstract

In the context of accident prevention and reduce the likely hood of recurrence of accident in the future, human element is the most adaptable but also vulnerable to influence, which can affect human performance in a given operational condition. In the context of road accident in New South Wales, the risk taking behavior of drivers may be due to psychological and social factors. . For example, peer group pressure, drink driving and perception, hazard perception, other social factors like family environment, traffic congestion, weather condition, road condition, perception of seat belts and its importance, fatigue perception and driving, inappropriate use of technology, driver distractions, licensing systems, law enforcement and penalty system, in appropriate education and training, may affect different driver groups and may affect their risk taking behavior on roads and may be contributing to the incident of accident or may contribute to accident on New South Wales road.

To get a deeper insight in to the accident prevention and recurrence, the SHELL model even though it is developed for Aviation Industry safety prevention and accident reduction it can shed light why human error occur and what factors interact to contribute to accident on roads in New South Wales.

The SHELL model places emphasis on human beings and its interfaces with other parts of a system such as hardware which is the Road and traffic physical system in NSW, procedures, education training and support systems the software and the environment or operational conditions such as weather condition, condition of roads, sign system, traffic congestion, social factors and demographic factors in the context of road accident in New South Wales. That is Shell model is a system approach, which encourages to develop a comprehensive road safety counter measures addressing all the parts of the system and not to focus on one or two factors which contributes to human error and produces in appropriate behavior. This enables to develop effective road safety strategies, which is comprehensive and researched, based and tailor programs to targeted groups of drivers and to high-risk areas. As well, allocate resources in a cost effective manner, which produces maximum reduction in accident rate in New South Wales. In this paper, I discuss in detail how the SHELL model can be applied to develop road safety strategy development based on what factors interact to produce accident based on current research on factors affecting accident on particular driver groups so that to develop targeted strategies based on the findings of these research and consider all elements of the road system as depicted by the SHELL model.