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Driving,
Death, and Usability
Article by John
S. Rhodes
Summary
This article discusses turn signals and how they are used. Turn
signals improve safety because they give people time to react and they reduce driving ambiguity. However, they are only effective when people
actually use them. Several lessons are applied to web usability.
Giving People Time
There are two types of people: Those that use their
turn signals
and those that do not.
Driving is risky and that is why I always use my turn signals. I've been
driving long enough to know that other people cannot read my mind. When I drive, I want to share my decisions with other people.
Turn signals save
lives because they deliver information about actions, before the actions take place.
When driving, I can't explain my decisions to other people.
However, I can indicate my intentions to other people, and that is often good enough. Other people can react to my intentions as well as they can react to my
actual behavior.
If I use my turn signal first, and then act, then other people have extra
time to react. If I simply act, then other people must immediately react. They cannot make decisions as
efficiently when they are not given sufficient time to think. The reason that
it is important to telegraph intentions is that it gives people time. When people have time, they can
weigh their choices. If they do not have time, they will simply react.
Ambiguity
When used, turn signals also reduce
ambiguity. If you know what I intend to do, you can understand the course of action I will
take. You can understand my plan. When you understand my plan, your actions can change. This is
important because even if you don't like my intended course of action, at least you know what I plan and you can make better decisions.
When ambiguity in driving is high, it is likely to generate anger. In turn,
anger generates poor driving. Turn signals reduce
ambiguity. That means that turn signals decrease complexity. As most of you know,
driving is a complex activity so almost any simplification is good.
Realize that ambiguity and time are highly related. As driving complexity
increases, time to react decrease. The relationship is inverse. To increase
time, you should decrease complexity. That means you should use your turn
signal.
Human Failure
There are times when turn signal bulbs blow out, or turn signal fuses go
bad. However, in almost all cases, the turn signal failures are human failures. The problem with turn signals is that they are only as good as
the people that use them.
Even if you take safety into your own hands,
you can fail because of other people. For example, even if you adjust your mirrors
properly, if other drivers do not use their turn signals properly, you can still have an accident. In so many ways, your life is in the
hands of other people. The failure you experience is often the result of another
person. It is human failure.
Turn signals are interesting in that they represent excellent technology,
but only when used properly by humans. That is, they are simple and very effective. However, they are only simple and effective when a human
properly interacts with them. This is in contrast to vehicle engines. Engines also represent excellent technology but they require very little
human interaction. In fact, once started, they require no human intervention. When they fail, which is actually quite rare, it is
mechanical failure. However, when a turn signal fails, it is because a human has decided not to use it.
Supposedly, 92% of American drivers use their turn signals. My personal
experience is that this figure is much too high. In any event, even if it is true, the number is truly awful. It means that 8% of drivers are not
using their turn signals. That is a lot of failure. Imagine if 8% of all babies were dropped or if 8% of all tires exploded or if 8% of all
telephones didn't work.
The lesson is that turn signals are an effective technology but they are
rendered useless by inconsiderate and ignorant people. Humans generate failure.
Unfortunately, errors directly generated by humans are some of the worst.
Improving Simple Technology
I
recently started seeing Muth Mirrors.
They represent excellent usability. The basic idea is that your side mirrors include lights that show people your turn signal. So, if
I plan on turning left,
the left hand side mirror lights up with a very bright arrow. I've seen these on several vehicles and they really make a difference.
Demonstration of the Muth Mirror Technology.
I think these should be required technology on all new vehicles. Of course,
I say this out of bias and ignorance. As you can tell, I think turn signals are very important. And, I am making my statement without any data. These
mirror enhancements are fairly new I think and I not seen any data indicating they decrease accidents. Still, I love them.
Note that one of my central points still remains, even with the Muth Mirror
technology. If people don't use their turn signals, then other people won't see them. So, even when Muth turn signals are available, if people choose
not to use them, they are 100% useless. The technology itself cannot save more lives, humans must be involved or there will be no
synergy
between the normal turn signals and the humans.
As a simple tool, it is hard to realize that turn signals have a huge
payoff. In most cases, turn signals don't seem necessary. In fact, in most cases, turn signals probably aren't necessary. The payoff for each turn
signal use is very, very low. On average, you get very little return. That makes it seem like a simple turn signal doesn't do very much. However, the
reality is that there are many cases each day where signals save lives. The
repeated use of turn signals will payoff in the long run.
Implications for Web Design
There are several lessons for web design; we have a lot to learn from this
discussion of turn signals.
First, it is rare that problems on the web are caused by web technology or
technology in general. For example, while it is true that tools such as FrontPage generate horrible HTML, it is often the case that browsers can
handle the problems. Technology is not the problem, people are the
problem. Stated another way, it is the application of technology that causes
problems, not the technology itself. Note that the poor application of technology is caused by developers, designers, and project managers.
Don't blame customers. It is our fault, not theirs.
Second, turn signals are a simple technology. Most web technologies are
simple. The protocols are simple, and the tools are not really sophisticated. However, driving is complex and the web is complex. Simple
things and complex things end up getting smashed together, and the simple things usually don't shine through. We usually see the ugly mess. If you
are in doubt about what you are developing, think about how the simple things can make life better.
Focus on simplicity. That is the key. Keep it simple because the simple things are easy to work with and remember. Help
simplicity win.
Third, the impact of your actions often impacts other people more than it
impacts you. In the case of turn signals, when you don't use them, other people suffer. Likewise, in the case of web development and design, and
information architecture, when you do a poor job, other people suffer. The core idea is that we all need to develop a better sense of
empathy. When we truly understand how others feel, we can do a better job with our own
actions. Just as it makes sense to deliver your driving intentions using a turn signal, it makes sense to develop web sites by understanding what
other people want and need.
Finally, there are some things you cannot
automate. You can automate turn signals, but you cannot effectively automate the
use of turn signals. Humans are involved and it is messy. The same idea applies to web design.
You can automate some things, such as page and application design, but you cannot automate good design that augments and nurtures the customer
experience. Also, just because you have interactive chat features on your web site, it does not mean your communication
problems are solved. Humans at your end need to be able to react and interact. It is hard to automate
the human touch.
Comments?
Send them to me: john@webword.com
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