Abstract
Transportation practitioners recognize that leveraging knowledge of human factors in road design is critical for delivering safe mobility to the full spectrum of multimodal road users (motorists, pedestrians, micromobility users, transit users). Understanding how psychology, cognition, and behavioral tendencies shape the ways in which different road users interact with one another and the road environment itself is critical for creating design solutions that promote safe and efficient movement. NCHRP Report 600 (Human Factors Guidelines for Road Systems) provides guidance on integrating knowledge of human factors into design practice. While the report is a valuable resource, it appears to be underutilized by design professionals. Many designers are unaware it exists. Others know of the document yet are not inclined to wade through its voluminous content to identify entries that may be relevant to the project they are developing — there just is no time to do so. Motivated by a desire to improve the accessibility of NCHRP Report 600, this report describes development of a website for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) named Designing for Safe Mobility. The website provides condensed versions of entries found in NCHRP 600, which can be searched and filtered based on user preferences. Along with this searchable database of entries, the website houses short primers that introduce practitioners to key topics underpinning contemporary design practice, including an overview of human factors in road design as well as review pieces on the Safe System Approach, context and functional classification, and the application of Complete Streets concepts. A Designing for Safe Mobility checklist on the site can be used by practitioners to verify they have systematically addressed human factors in their designs. The website can serve as a repository of design-related information and can be updated with new content (e.g., case studies, design tutorials) as needed.
Report Date
6-2024
Report Number
KTC-24-26
Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.13023/ktc.rr.2024.26
Repository Citation
Van Dyke, Chris; Jasper, Jeff; Asher, Jill; and Waddle, Steve, "Using Knowledge of Human Factors to Strengthen Highway Design" (2024). Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report. 1826.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ktc_researchreports/1826
