Constructing safety

Abstract

The human factor is responsible for the majority of aviation accidents, both in the air and on the ground. Established systems to protect safety, such as checking procedures, have an inescapable statistical probability of failure. They also provide the psychological conditions for learning unsafe behaviour. A failure to follow standard operating procedures is the most prevalent characteristic of accidents associated with both aircrew and ground handling accidents. Strategies to improve the safety of human performance on the airport apron include ergonomic design of the interfaces between the operative and the work environment; matching the operative more effectively to the task and providing organisational support for safe operation.

Reviewing the application of these strategies to the universal problem of road accidents reveals mixed findings. Highway engineers have paid varying degrees of attention to the ergonomic development of the road environment. From a psychological viewpoint they have tacitly been using methods for modifying driver behaviour. Recognition of this should enable a more systematic development of the approach. Current driver selection and training methods are dramatic failures: those who have most recently passed the driving test kill the most pedestrians and are most likely to be killed themselves. Best practice at the organisational level is conspicuous by its absence. It is suggested that a constructive new direction for road safety interventions would be the development of a sense of ownership of safety and safety programmes at the level of the community.