The human error has been reported as a major root cause in road accidents in today's world. The human as a driver in road vehicles composed of human, mechanical and electrical components is constantly exposed to changing surroundings (e.g., road conditions, environment)which deteriorate the driver's capacities leading to a potential accident. The auto industries and transportation authorities have realized that similar to other complex and safety sensitive transportation systems, the road vehicles need to rely on both advanced technologies (i.e., Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)) and Passive Safety Systems (PSS) (e.g.,, seatbelts, airbags) in order to mitigate the risk of accidents and casualties. In this study, the advantages and disadvantages of ADAS as active safety systems as well as passive safety systems in road vehicles have been discussed. Also, this study proposes models that analyze the interactions between human as a driver and ADAS Warning and Crash Avoidance Systems and PSS in the design of vehicles. Thereafter, the mathematical models have been developed to make reliability prediction at any given time on the road transportation for vehicles equipped with ADAS and PSS. Finally, the implications of this study in the improvement of vehicle designs and prevention of casualties are discussed.

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Nowadays, the human error is usually identified as the conclusive cause of investigations in road accidents. The human although is the person in control of vehicle until the moment of crash but it has to be understood that the human is under continued impact by various factors including road environment, vehicle and human’s state, abilities and conduct. The current advances in design of vehicle and roads have been intended to provide drivers with extra comfort with less physical and mental efforts, whereas the fatigue imposed on driver is just being transformed from over-load fatigue to under-load fatigue and boredom. A representational model to illustrate the relationships between design and condition of vehicle and road as well as driver’s condition and state on fatigue and the human error leading to accidents has been developed. Thereafter, the stochastic mathematical models based on time-dependent failure rates were developed to make prediction on the road transportation reliability and failure probabilities due to each cause (vehicle, road environment, human due to fatigue, and human due to non fatigue factors). Furthermore, the supportive assessment methodology and models to assess and predict the failure rates of driver due to each category of causes were developed and proposed.

Human error has played a critical role in the events precipitating the road accidents. Such accidents can be predicted and prevented by risk assessment, in particular assessing the human contribution to risk. As part of the Human Reliability Assessment (HRA) process, it is usually necessary not only to define what human errors can occur, but how often they will occur. Lack of understanding of the failure distribution characteristics of drivers on roads at any given time is a factor impeding the development of human reliability assessment and prediction of road accidents in order to take best proactive measures. The authors developed the complete investigation methodology for crash data collection. Furthermore, they have experimentally tested the proposed predictive behavioral characteristics of drivers in light of their instantaneous error rate over the course of driving period to assist processing and analysis of data collection as part of risk assessment. The findings of this research can assist road safety authorities to collect the necessary data, to better understand the behavioral characteristics of drivers on roads, to make more accurate risk assessments and finally to come up with right preventive measures.

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