To better understand how roadway crashes can be prevented, it’s essential to explore the human behaviors that contribute to them. This objective is core to the work of the U of M’s Human Factors Safety Laboratory (HFSL). Research Associate Professor and CTS scholar Nichole Morris, who directs the lab, outlined its mission and impact in a recent Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) webinar highlighting Minnesota's traffic safety research ecosystem.
Minnesota TZD is the state’s cornerstone traffic safety program, employing an interdisciplinary approach to reducing traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths on the state’s roads. CTS partners with TZD to provide program administration, event coordination, and communications.
The HFSL brings together behavioral scientists and engineers dedicated to reducing roadway and occupational injuries and fatalities. They combine research on human behavior with the design and testing of user-centered systems to create solutions that work better for everyone.
“Human factors is the intersection between people and systems,” Morris explained. From in-vehicle technologies and roadway signage to partnerships with larger organizations such as law enforcement, transportation systems involve a wide range of human-system interactions.
Four research tracks shape the lab’s work:
- Crash reporting. Although projects often intersect, crash reporting is foundational to the other research tracks. Morris refers to it as the lifeblood of transportation safety—without crash data, researchers don’t know what’s working and what isn’t. In one of its more consequential projects, the HFSL helped rebuild the front end of MNCrash—an application designed for law enforcement to document and report crashes. In close collaboration with the Minnesota Departments of Transportation and Public Safety as well as multiple law enforcement agencies, the HFSL team helped to streamline the user experience and improve data completeness and accuracy. Since deploying the updated version in 2016, MNCrash has been adopted by all law enforcement agencies across Minnesota. It’s featured in the sixth edition of the USDOT’s Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria and has become the national standard for crash reporting.
- Maintenance and work-zone safety. In one project, leveraging the expertise and methods gained from MNCrash, the lab collaborated with MnDOT and maintenance workers on a streamlined app to make documenting work-zone intrusions easier. After its launch in 2022, the team continued work, using low-cost sensors and radar to help reduce select work-zone driving speeds in real time.
- Pedestrian and non-motorist safety. The Stop for Me campaign, a collaboration with MnDOT, St. Paul, Ramsey County, and Western Michigan University, has been adopted in communities across Minnesota. The campaign—which combines enforcement and engineering treatments to improve yielding at crosswalks—has inspired similar efforts in more cities around the country. Other projects include studies on dedicated right-turn lanes and temporary and permanent pedestrian infrastructure to reduce conflicts between drivers and pedestrians.
- Infrastructure and signage. The lab’s work on J-turns, which have proven effective at reducing fatal crashes, has helped to identify and address several navigational errors drivers may make when first encountering this type of intersection. The researchers have found that poor or confusing first experiences with J-turns can lead to negative community perceptions and result in pushback on J-turn implementation. The research has found specific pavement markings to help guide drivers and facilitate successful use of J-turns—leading to fewer crashes and better driver experiences.
Morris emphasized that investment in sound research methods and collaborations across partner institutions, organizations, and communities is what creates successful research outcomes. While studies may yield results in the moment, she says investing in methodology is what really carries the work forward. The HSFL’s work continues to inspire other states and agencies, Morris added.
—Krysta Rzeszutek, CTS digital editor
