The man-vehicle-road-environment model

Section 8.1 presented research into human information processing. Much 

Source Englund et al., 1998. Copyright 1998 by Studentlitterature and reproduced by permission. 

It follows from these revised models that changing behaviour is not merely a question of information and campaigns. The design of the traffic environment is at least as important. When improvement in safety is an overriding societal objective, investments in the road network should not invite the driver to utilise the improved standard to reduce travelling time at the cost of safety. 

This development is rational and reduces the mental load of the driving tasks. From the point of view of traffic safety, it is important to direct the development of skills in a direction that promotes safety. It is also important to design the traffic environment in a way that takes the needs of the novice driver as well as the experienced driver into account. The novice driver should be given a realistic understanding of the challenges that the traffic environment represents. Simultaneously, the attention of the experienced driver should be directed at recent changes in the traffic environment. 

Let us now turn to each of the three components of the driver-vehicle-environment model. Research has explored the effects of different characteristics of each component on the risk of traffic accidents. Some of the research results are summarised below with special focus on transportation safety. 

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