Hindsight Judgment of Driver Fault in Traffic Accident Analysis

Hindsight bias refers to the tendency for those observing an accident after its occurrence to believe the accident was more foreseeable for those involved than it actually was. It has important implications in highway safety research because understanding accident causes is critical to developing safer roads, and in the legal arena, because hindsight may bias judgments of fault against drivers involved in accidents. This paper surveys the research on hindsight bias to determine its impact on accident analysis. An example of a serious traffic accident and its reconstruction is presented to demonstrate the role of hindsight bias in determining cause and judgement of fault. The authors discuss the science of traffic accident reconstruction and they suggest debiasing techniques to mitigate the impacts of hindsight bias.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/20782681
• Authors:
  • Dilich, Michael
  • Kopernik, Dror
  • Goebelbecker, John
• Publication Date: 2013-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 11-17
• Serial:
  • Accident Reconstruction Journal
  • Volume: 23
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists
  • ISSN: 1057-8153
  • Serial URL: https://www.napars.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash analysis; Crash causes; Crash reconstruction; Judgment (Human characteristics); Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: At-fault drivers; Hindsight bias
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01487386
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 18 2013 1:57PM