Book Description

"In an attempt to discover some of the less obvious or hidden causes of these accidents and to suggest appropriate corrective measures, a research project was initiated in the field of highway transport safety at the Harvard School of Public Health in the fall of 1949. Primary emphasis was to be placed on the role of human factors in the prevention of accidents. When the project was begun it was apparent that accidents were caused by a combination of circumstances which involved the drivers, their equipment, and the operating conditions on the highways. This implied that a team of scientists, with specialized training in the fields of safety engineering, psychology, physiology, anthropology, and preventive medicine should participate in the study. Such an interdisciplinary approach is characteristic of schools of public health, and the one at Harvard seemed to be a particularly appropriate place for a program of this type. Extensive study and research, as applied to aviation and other industrial fields, had already been carried out in its Department of Industrial Hygiene. Here also were to be found the various academic disciplines necessary to the solution of the broad problems influencing health and safety in highway transportation. In this research program which has been undertaken in the field of highway transport safety, four separate studies have now been completed. The subject matter of the present, or third, study has been divided into five major areas as indicated in the following Table of Contents. The introductory section, Part I, gives a brief outline of the importance of accidents in general, and of highway accidents in particular. The various approaches for the reduction of accidents in the truck and bus industries are also presented. The following four parts of the report relate to: Part Il. The Selection of Drivers, Part Ill. Human Maintenance, Part IV. Human Factors in the Design of Equipment, and Part V. Operating Procedures and Accidents. The original research findings from this investigation on highway transport safety have been integrated with previously published studies throughout the report. A selected bibliography is given at the end of each chapter for reference purposes. A glossary of terms frequently used in the highway transport industry and in the biological sciences, as well as a general topical index, are included at the end of the report."--Preface