Human errors in traffic accidents: differences between car drivers and motorcyclists’ experience

Guritnaningsih P Santoso,Dewi Maulina

doi:10.7454/proust.v2i2.69

Guritnaningsih P Santoso, Dewi Maulina

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7454/proust.v2i2.69

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Abstract

Traffic accidents have become one of the main causes of death in Indonesia. The biggest contributor to traffic accidents are motorcyclists. According to police records, human error plays a major role in the occurrence of accidents. The aim of this study is to analyze the potential types of human error that contribute to traffic accidents, as well as the psychological factors that underlie traffic accidents experienced by car drivers and motorcyclists. Data was collected by interviewing five car drivers and five motorcyclists. Results show that the car drivers tend to perform a type of human error which is classified as lapses, while the motorcyclists tend to do an error of slips. For psychological factors that underlie traffic accident, results show that both car drivers and motorcyclists made recognition errors, i.e. did not estimate distance, time, and speed. They also made decision errors, i.e. did not avoid the situation immediately, and performance errors, i.e. a motorcyclist stepped on the gas pedal by mistake. Other errors done by the car drivers were being sleepy and drunk, whereas other errors done by motorcyclists were not having a riding license and feeling tired. The implication of this study is to make the drivers/riders aware of the importance of cognitive aspects in driving.

Highlights

McKenna and Horswill (1999) claimed that the failure to perceive hazards contributed to the occurrence of accidents; Horswill and Helman’s study (2003) found that motorcyclists have better hazard perception than car drivers, which was not in line with the results in our study as both driver groups were found to have made recognition errors, and that this was a major reason for their accidents
This study found that there were no differences between the car drivers and motorcyclists in terms of decision errors and performance errors as both were found to wrongly anticipate unexpected situations and both were unable to properly estimate the speed or the distance between their vehicles and other vehicles
The failure of car drivers and motorcyclists to properly perceive road situations can result in decision errors and performance errors

Summary

Introduction

This study found that there were no differences between the car drivers and motorcyclists in terms of decision errors and performance errors as both were found to wrongly anticipate unexpected situations and both were unable to properly estimate the speed or the distance between their vehicles and other vehicles. This finding was in line with Rizania, Santoso, and Maulina’s (2009) study on motorcyclists, which found that the perceptual judgment of distance and speed was very low, which meant that the drivers/rider acted incorrectly when trying to avoid an accide

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