Investigating the human element in accidents
Human factors, including human capabilities, limitations, perception, decision making, reactions, physical states, and behaviors, can all contribute significantly to accidents. Exponent's Human Factors team is at the forefront of research on operator performance for a variety of environments and every mode of transportation.
For clients seeking understanding of how to maximize safety and reduce risk, Exponent provides comprehensive reports on the role of human interaction and performance. We evaluate and analyze operator error, accident risk, impacts, and evaluation of in-vehicle technology, and the effects of instructions and warnings on operator behavior. Our novel, quantitative and qualitative frameworks allow us to apply scientific rigor to issues of human safety and provide clients accurate and objective insights.
And our experience and testing resources have allowed us to develop expertise in a variety of areas, including but not limited to, adaptive cruise control, advanced driver assistance systems, back-up accidents, in-vehicle device usage, perception-reaction time analysis, and gaze patterns and visual search.
Investigating accidents involving all types of transportation, including:
Automobiles
Passenger and off-road vehicles (e.g., ATVs, UTVs, snowmobiles)
Bicycles
Skateboards and electric scooters
Motorcycles
Commercial trucks
Buses and motor coaches
Trains
Industrial equipment (e.g., forklifts, boom trucks, bulldozers)
Emergency vehicles
Rental vehicles and trucks
Airplanes and other types of aviation
Investigating how design of vehicle-related products, controls, or systems influence safety, including:
Seatbelts
Rearview camera displays
Back-up alarms
Forward collision warnings with autonomous emergency braking
Adaptive cruise control
In-vehicle warnings
Lane departure warnings
Assessing intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting driver behavior, including:
Decision-making
Demographics (age, gender)
Distraction
Drugs and alcohol
Experience
Training
Familiarity with the vehicle or environment
Fatigue
Response to the unexpected
Risk-taking behaviors
Stress
Hypervigilance
Additional services
For 50+ years, we’ve thrived on solving unstructured problems that require bespoke solutions. Some of our services include:
• Performing accident database analysis, surveys, and observational data collection
• Conducting image processing techniques for visibility and conspicuity analyses
• Designing and executing experimental research with human subjects
Innovative Testing for Increasing Automation
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have the potential to transform road safety — but only if the technologies that power them are accepted by drivers and confirmed safe, too. Exponent is actively developing the testing strategies needed to realize vehicle innovation.
