Human Factors in Safe Driving - A Review of Literature on Systems Perspective, Distractions and Errors

This paper presents an overview of literature on human factors in driving, with a view to introduce systems perspective in driver training and evaluation, as well as the need to review road transport policies in India. There is a steady increase in traffic fatalities in spite of the presence of traffic rules, regulations and legislative systems all over the country. One possible reason for this is the increasing number of vehicles on the road. Other possible reasons are: the absence of proper training for the drivers; the lack of facilities for proper evaluation of drivers' qualifications from a human-factor perspective while issuing driving license; periodic checking of driving proficiency during renewal of license. The same perspective has to be used while designing roads and vehicles, as well as in implementing employment rules for drivers. Moreover, the importance of human factors in driving and driver behavior should not be ruled out. These factors related to driving safely can be categorized into three: driver, vehicle, and environmental, which can be studied from systems perspective to find possible solutions to improve safety on the roads.