{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02410358565737052, 'fraction_numerical': 0.008764940239043825, 'mean_word_length': 5.042117930204573, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Human factors in automotive engineering and technology

Human Factors in Automotive Engineering and Technology is a new volume in the Ashgate series of Human Factors in Road and Rail Transport. The series has already produced a number of reference books on Aviation, Rail and even maritime ergonomics and human factors. Given the ubiquity of the automobile in recent History, automotive ergonomics was rather underrepresented in the series (with a few exceptions – e.g. the Driver Behaviour and Training volumes, Mike Young’s Driver Distraction book). A book with the promising comprehensive title: ‘Human Factors in Automotive Engineering and Technology’ is a welcome addition to the series and to this hugely important application of the ergonomics discipline. There are two key questions reviewers tend to be asked during a book review. The first question is ‘will I learn anything useful reading this book?’ The book, as well as the studies upon which it is based, took the bold step of combining and applying multiple analytical methods, such as those published in a previous title by the authors (Human Factors Methods) to analyse facets of cognitive driver ergonomics. The usual suspects of technology automation and driver error are here, however the boldest attempt is made to tackle modelling of driver behaviour and driving as a task itself. The vehicle they chose to this end is the Hierarchical Task Analysis. In the process, the authors appear to miss a number of previous attempts that followed similar tools for the same end (e.g. Allen, Lunenfeld, and Alexander 1971; Michon 1985; Summala 1996; Gkikas 2012) between their own study and the early study McNight and Adams (1972). Contrary to all previous studies however, (and in line with McNight and Adams 1972) the authors include a detailed description of the results of the task analysis they performed appended to the main body of this book. This feature of the book deserves its own merit, both because it serves as a guide for any colleague in the Ergonomics/Human Factors profession who might want to adopt or improve the method as well as introduce professionals from neighbouring automotive disciplines to a solid example of employing this well-established tool in practice. University students will find Chapter 5 (Describing Driver Error) particularly useful should they enrol on modules around human error modelling and classification. The chapter provides an intelligent review of the dominant human error theories and models and makes the bold attempt to integrate them, almost as jigsaw pieces in a puzzle of comprehension. Readers from neighbouring disciplines will also benefit from economical and efficient reading – grasping within short time period, the key elements of human error and driver error theory and how they fit together. Chapters 8–11 consist of a collection of studies on topics which touch upon vehicle development, namely display feedback, automation and trust in technology. Vehicle Engineers and other professionals involved in the development of vehicles and vehicle HMI in particular, will find useful evidence to inform their design decisions or at least some key issues to consider while embarking on the challenge of designing a road vehicle. Chapter 12 has the bold title ‘A Systems View of Vehicle Automation’ and its introduction sets the scene for the final chapter nicely: ‘Indeed, human factors is in danger of being ignored by engineers if it keeps emphasising the negative without communicating how best to implement technology’. Although the rest of Chapter 12 is narrowing the ‘systems view’ to a simulator-based experimental investigation of six psychological metrics, the final chapter of the book concludes with what every reader should expect from the book’s title: distilled and well informed answers to questions relevant to wide audience with interest in the automotive industry. Although, it must be noted, the questions on automation – with a hint on autonomy, the role of human as assumed during vehicle development vs. as realised in service and how to address failures and the question of how best to deal with failures and weaknessess is not comprehensively answered, the book concludes with a framework for future vehicle development based on the Socio-technical principles (Cherns 1976; Davis 1977; Clegg 2000). To its great majority, the book is essentially a compilation of studies previously published in academic journals, however far from having articles which have plainly been regurgitated. Instead, written by a very experienced authoring team in their efficient, almost hydraulic (i.e. fluid, flowing, effortless) style and the addition of Don Norman as the Deus ex Machina, opening a dialogue on the status and implications of the key issues discussed, sets the book apart from most previous publications in this area. Therefore, regarding the second question a review is expected to provide (i.e. “will I enjoy reading this book?”), the answer is: “it’ll be hard not to ...’.