"Reliance" and "Distraction" Effects in PTC Automation
- Human Factors team at FRA
This document was requested on 3/3/99 by the PTC Human Factors Team of the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) as part of the ongoing discussions of PTC standards.
Questions have been raised about the possible propensity for a locomotive engineer or conductor to become over-reliant on PTC automation and/or to become distracted by the additional monitoring burdens required by the automation, and for these effects to compromise the performance of their duties and for safe and efficient train operation.