专业英语翻译原文.doc

Human Factors In Transportation(原文)Unite 25 Human Factors In Transportation Consideration of human factors as a professional activity dates to World War II work of behavioral scientists with design of man-machine systems. Transportation systems are a nature area for the interaction between engineers and psychologists. Modern transportation systems involve humans as vehicle operators , passengers, and pedestrians.The human element of any transportation system is largely a given around which the other elements must be designed and operated. Safety considerations are important, but efficiency also plays a major role in the system design trade-offs that must be made. All too many of these trade-offs are made with insufficient information about human capabilities. As a result, system inefficiencies and breakdowns occur that could be prevented. Transportation systems account for large number and proportions of injuries and deaths in every country. Accident records are crudely generated and serve only as a broad indicator of the magnitude of the problems. This leaves system designers and operators(transportation engineering) to rely on what is known about human factors principles to achieve desired system performance. Unfortunately, the design responsibility in most transportation systems is badly fractionized among various subgroups. For example, vehicle design engineers and pathway designers commonly function independently from each other and from operating engineers, who in turn operate separately from transportation law makers and law enforcers. Those who train and select(license) operators form yet another independent subgroup. Each subgroup deals, for better or for worse, with human factors of the system users.An accident is an indicator of system failure and as such it is a measure of effectiveness (MOE). In the United States, all accidental deaths in 1987 increased about 1300 from 1997 and the largest increase occurred in motor vehicle deaths. However, according to the National Safety Council, the overall accidental death rate per 100000 population was 47.9, the third lowest rate on record (Accident Facts, 1979). Between 1912 and 1978 accidental deaths per 100000 population were reduced 41%, from 82 to 48. The 70% reduction from 79 to 24 in the non-motor-vehicle death rate was offset in part by the eightfold increase in the motor vehicle death rate, from 3 to 24. The reduction in the overall rate during a period when the nations population more than doubled has resulted in 1950000 fewer people being killed accidentally than would have been killed if the rate had not been reduced. All these rates are adjusted to the age distribution of the population in 1940 to remove the influence of changes in the average age of the population through the yeas. In 1978, there were 27 times as many deaths as in 1910, but almost 330 times as many vehicles on highways.According to the data of the trends in accidental death rates, it is indicated that transportation is starting to climb toward 1970 levels following the sharp decrease in 1973-1974. A newsletter reported the following:According to Joan Claybrook , Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “people are dying on the nations highways in epidemic proportions”. At a news conference in Washington last week, she reported the death count has shown “alarming increases” over the last 12 months. Fatalities in 1978 exceeded 50000 for the first time in five yeas and the trend is continuing. In the first tow months of this year, an estimated 6267 fatalities were recorded, an increase of 855 deaths or 16.4 percent over the corresponding period in 1978.Claybrook released a four-year study of 1975-78 trends in the Fatal Accident Reporting System. A breakdown by vehicle type found that while there was a 12.6 percent increase in the fatalities, however, increased more than 40 percent while motorcycle deaths rose 41 percent. An increase in deaths of 37 percent was found among occupants of pickup trucks and vans. Claybrook said that these statistics indicate the need for improving the safety of motorcycles and right and heavy trucks.Human beings were essentially the same, yet their behavior must have changed for the worse during the 1977-1979 period. Generally, there is a trend for more or less steady improvement in the physical elements of transportation. During 1973-1974 some degree of increase in risk taking or exposure to death by travel must occurred. At any rate, such changes in behavior are pretty much of a mystery. Travelers of all types generally tend to operate within their limitations as long as they are provided with enough information from the transportation environment to make the proper decisions. In the highway mode, the concept of providing sufficient information has been termed “positive guidance”, but the approach is equally applicable in all modes of transportation.Transportation engineers can refer to behavioral scientists for information about human factors. A great deal of research h