1st Edition

Investigating How and Why Motor Vehicle Crashes Occur To Err Is Human

By Alison Smiley Copyright 2026
168 Pages 29 B/W Illustrations
by CRC Press

168 Pages 29 B/W Illustrations
by CRC Press

168 Pages 29 B/W Illustrations
by CRC Press

Decades of research reveal that human error is a significant contributor to vehicle crashes, accounting for over 90 % of incidents. Humans possess inherent physical, visual, and cognitive limitations that can lead to accidents on the road. This book draws on the author’s 35 years of experience investigating approximately 500 motor vehicle crashes to explore these limitations and their role in... Read more

1. Introduction. 2. Pedestrian Lying on the Road. 3. Red-Light Runner. 4. Motorcycle vs Train. 5. Eyewitness Evidence. 6. Pedestrian Struck on Signal Change. 7. Disabled Car on Highway versus Tractor Trailer. 8. Bus versus Train – Fatigue? 9. Car versus Tractor. 10. Workzone crash. 11. Car versus Bicycle. 12. Acting as a human factors expert witness. 

Biography

Dr. Alison Smiley served as president (1984-2021) and principal consultant of HFN Inc. in Toronto, Canada, holding a PhD (1978) in Systems Design Engineering with a Human Factors specialization. As the founding Chair of the Canadian College for the Certification of Professional Ergonomists (CCCPE), she brings 40 years of expertise in measuring driver performance affected by sign design, distraction, fatigue, drugs, and headlight design. Dr. Smiley has taught human factors courses to traffic engineers, highway designers, university students, and accident reconstructionists throughout Canada and the United States, while contributing to various manuals and books, including the Ontario Traffic Manual and the Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads. Her extensive experience includes conducting investigations and writing reports for over 500 legal cases involving motor vehicle crashes, and she has provided expert testimony in court more than 20 times across both Canada and the United States.