Glossary of Data Variables for Fatal and accident causation ... - ERSO

Manual For SafetyNet accident causation system (SNACS)
Genotypes: reasons for the
dysfunctional behaviour
Genotype: Observation
missed (B1)
Explanation:
Kalle doesn’t see
that the traffic light
has turned red
Phenotype:
dysfunctional
behaviour
from physics
standpoint
Phenotype:
Timing: No
action (A1.3)
Explanation:
The vehicle
does not stop
when the traffic
light turns red
Accident
Figure 10: Beginning of SNACS analysis for Kalle
Now, the next step for us is to consider the reasons for, or causes of, Kalle’s
“Observation missed (B1)”. From the interview as well as from our on-scene
inspection, (documented facts in the CPC-table) we know that Kalle had a free
line of sight. There were no obstacles (either permanent, such as signs or trees,
or moving, such as other cars) that prevented Kalle from seeing the traffic light,
and the traffic light itself was working fine according to the police on-scene. This
means that we can discard factors relating to the maintenance of the traffic
environment, line of sight problems, etc.
In fact, after we have gone through all the things we know about the accident,
the only reasons left for Kalle’s running the red light are that he had his attention
on his phone, and that he had not slept well last night. These contributing
factors are then what we believe caused his missed observation of the traffic
light, and therefore we need to put them into the analysis. To do this, we locate
the horizontal table row in Appendix B where “Observation missed (B1)” is
located as under the heading CONSEQUENTS. As the letter in brackets after
the genotype indicates, this will be in table B, called OBSERVATION. That table
row looks like this:
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