Forensic Consulting and Expert Witness Services
Human Factors is the scientific discipline concerned with how psychological, biological, and cognitive characteristics affect how people see, hear, think and respond to their surrounding environment. Where do people look when walking? Could a driver have seen the dark clad pedestrian in the road? Does the design of a product prompt sensible use? Our human factors experts can answer these questions.
Common Investigations
| Driver perception |
Sound perception |
| Nighttime visibility |
Visual attention |
| Witness memory |
Motor coordination |
| Warnings, labels and signage |
Sight lines |
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Our human factors experts compare scientific data on human performance to the performance of individuals involved in claims. We can also experimentally assess products or performance through user group testing.
Was a driver slow in detecting and responding to a hazard, or was the collision unavoidable? Was a product warning label sufficient, or would injury be likely to occur?
Nearly all accidents involve human perception and behavior, and our human factors experts can analyze performance across a wide range of environments and tasks.
An Example of the Dangers of Multi-tasking
The series of images below shows a driver’s direction of gaze (red cross-hair) while adjusting the radio. At 0.0 seconds, the driver looks to a car in the distance. After looking back and forth to the radio for 1.3 seconds, the car in the distance is now passing the driver. If the oncoming vehicle had crossed the centerline while the driver adjusted the radio, multi-tasking could have resulted in a fatally delayed response.