Cognitive work analysis and road safety: potential applications in road transport

Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) offers a comprehensive methodological framework for the design, representation, and evaluation of complex, socio-technical systems and their component technologies. This article describes research that was conducted to examine the potential for applying methods from the CWA framework within the road transport domain. The research involved a review of the CWA framework, a review of the previous CWA applications reported in the literature, the identification of potential CWA-related applications in the road transport domain, and the conduct of a series of exploratory road transport CWA applications. The findings indicate that there is great potential for applying CWA-related methods and principles in the road transport domain, in particular during the design, development and evaluation of driver training programs and the design, development and analysis of road transport-related technology and artefacts, including intelligent transport systems, vehicle cockpits and road signage, layout and furniture. An exploratory work domain analysis of the Victorian road transport system is presented. It is concluded that the application of CWA within the road transport domain is an appropriate concept to pursue, and that the CWA applications identified could potentially contribute to the enhancement of road user behaviour and safety within the Australian road transport system.