ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises a number of constructs from applied psychological research which are thought to be important in understanding train driver performance. It explains the arguments into the context of the train driving task, drawing on an extensive analysis of driver performance with the Automatic Warning System. Situation awareness is possibly the most widely cited construct in understanding human performance in complex real-time systems. Not surprisingly, it is also considered a key psychological construct in safe train driving. From the perspective of ecological perception, the train driver is in a relatively unique and paradoxical situation. A principle conclusion of the study was that driver performance with automatic warning system can only be understood in terms of the context and situation at the time the system is intended to influence driver behaviour. There is considerable interest in psychological research and among safety professionals in the concepts of 'driving without attention', and 'looking-without-seeing'.
