Behind the Uber Self-Driving Car Crash: A Failure to Communicate. By L. Bliss, CityLab, May 25, 2018, http://bit.ly/2v4xrrt. On the night of March 1, 2018, a Volvo SUV in autonomous mode with a backup driver behind the wheel struck and killed a 49-year-old pedestrian crossing a seven-lane road in the middle of the street. The pedestrian, pushing a bicycle, was detected about 6 seconds before the vehicle hit her. The vehicle’s emergency braking system had been disabled by Uber to “reduce the potential for erratic behavior.” Cockpit video of the driver shows that she was looking down prior to impact; she claims she was monitoring the “self-driving interface,” not her smartphone. Although the system was aware of the pedestrian, this information was not passed to the human “backup driver.” Human Factors and Ergonomics Society member Missy Cummings of Duke University stated, “The system knew that a braking maneuver needed to happen, but the engineers never decided that this was a good piece of information for the driver to have. Why have a driver at all if you’re not willing to share that? They need better cognitive support for the driver.” Additional analyses are available at https://bloom.bg/2KdTot9 and https://on.wsj.com/2KezMVC. Since this incident, Uber has reactivated the emergency braking system. The preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report is available at http://bit.ly/2LHNRR2; the final report will be available later this year.
The accident analysis (381 pages), released on June 22, by the Tempe Police Department determined that the safety driver had been streaming The Voice on Hulu on her phone for 42 minutes and right up to the time of the accident (http://bit.ly/2NXhKJK). Uber is no longer testing vehicles in Arizona but has resumed testing in Pittsburgh, albeit under closer scrutiny and with a driver-monitoring system. This system utilizes a driver-facing camera to detect driver inattention and provides auditory alerts (http://bit.ly/2LGyzfv). In an effort to increase driver attentiveness, General Motors provides a monthlong training program for its autonomous vehicle testers (ATVs) and uses two ATVs during autonomous vehicle evaluations. “One is there to monitor the driving from behind the steering wheel and the other is there to capture and record data.” Since the Tempe accident, most companies testing self-driving vehicles now use two ATVs (http://bit.ly/2LGyzfv). Cadillac monitors drivers’ attentiveness by tracking eye and head movements with infrared cameras (https://usat.ly/2n1vS9y and http://bit.ly/2Kewsd2).
Caution: Self-Driving Cars Ahead. By K. Gammon, Inside Science, June 11, 2018, http://bit.ly/2AtxmCN. In addition to the issues described in the previous entry, Gammon raises some ethical issues: “So who gets to decide an autonomous or semi-autonomous car’s settings: the owner? A regulating body? The carmaker? These open questions create new legal and ethical challenges for our society.” “It would be imaginable that you could purchase a safety setting that prioritizes people inside the car instead of people outside the car for an upgrade of $10,000,” said Leon Sutfeld, a researcher at the University of Osnabruck in Germany who studies ethical decisions in road traffic scenarios (http://bit.ly/2n18rx5). Also see http://bit.ly/2LLSNED.
NYC Helicopter Crash May Have Been Caused by Passenger Bag Hitting Fuel Shutoff Button, Reports Say. By K. Kanzer, J. Agnish, and J. Bacon, USA Today, March 13, 2018, https://usat.ly/2LCy8ml. A sightseeing helicopter crashed into the East River. Of the six persons aboard, only the pilot survived. The helicopter was not equipped with doors to facilitate photography. Passengers were equipped with harnesses that allowed them to lean out of the helicopter to take photos. The harnesses were attached to the aircraft by a carabiner with a knurled screw. A seat belt cutter was provided to the passengers. This is the third crash of a helicopter owned by the same tour company since 2007. In the preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report, the pilot reported that after he was committed to land in the river, “when he reached down for the emergency fuel shutoff lever, he realized that it was in the off position. He also noted that a portion of the front seat passenger’s tether was underneath the lever.”
Adams provides an insightful commentary on the safety issues surrounding this crash (http://bit.ly/2Atqa9S), including videos documenting the underwater egress training, to which only crewmembers are routinely exposed. His commentary on the safety briefing is particularly telling. He described it as “a chirpy and enthusiastic video that lasted less than 5 minutes.” The passengers did not practice releasing themselves from the harness, nor did they receive information on how to use the flotation devices or basic helicopter safety information. Because the passengers wore headsets without microphones, they could not communicate with the pilot. The video in which he demonstrates that the belt cutter, which was provided to passengers without information regarding location or utilization, could not cut through the tethers is particularly telling.
Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for Healthcare Organizations. By the ECRI Institute, March 14, 2018, http://bit.ly/2NXdVEo. Most of the concerns listed by the ECRI Institute have human factors/ergonomics implications: diagnostic errors; opioid safety across the continuum of care; internal care coordination; workarounds; incorporating health information technology into patient safety programs; management of behavioral health needs in acute care settings; all-hazards emergency preparedness; device cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization; patient engagement and health literacy; and leadership engagement in patient safety. This nonprofit organization serves as a clearinghouse for clinical practice guidelines, a function that had been fulfilled by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on the National Guideline Clearinghouse Web site, which was defunded on July 17, 2018.
Death by Design. By Human Factors 101, July 16, 2018, http://bit.ly/2KeU15q. “Keyless-entry and keyless-ignition systems introduce quite a change to the way that we have interacted with our cars for many years, often decades.” This posting describes the changing relationship between the key and the ignition. Keyless ignitions have led owners to leave their vehicles unintentionally running in their garage and introducing carbon monoxide into houses. In some cases, drivers exited their vehicle and were subsequently run over by it. The anonymous author discusses human factors considerations and proposes risk management strategies and solutions. This National Highway Traffic Safety Administration video highlights the dangers of keyless-ignitions: http://bit.ly/2AtGE1N.
Additional links
Special Issue: The Science of Teamwork: http://bit.ly/2AtoFs9. This is a high-quality, nearly 300-page update on the state of the art, from Hawthorne to health care to terrorist teams. Also see http://bit.ly/2O0GfpD.
Cut Back on Noisy Offices: Phone Booths, Quiet Rooms, etc.: https://wbur.fm/2v6jNnN and
https://memne.ws/2NZe0HB
Riskier Playgrounds? https://wbur.fm/2v5uhUx
Heat and Dehydration Can Lower Cognitive Performance: https://n.pr/2LK1i36 and https://n.pr/2Atyrus
