This study improves the accuracy and depth of knowledge regarding the link between preventable motor carrier accidents and the more remote factors that underlie them. Unlike most motor carrier accident research, this project used an inductive methodology termed event cascade analysis. Event cascade analysis is a qualitative technique that allows the researcher to identify remote factors residing in the distal environment that triggered preventable motor carrier accidents.
The data for this study consisted of 204 accident files obtained from the Oregon Department of Transportation. Discrete event cascades were developed for each accident sequence. Based on these event cascades, a conceptual model was formulated linking factors in the proximal environment to distal origins. Four proximal factors were routinely associated with preventable accidents: imprudent decision-making, failure to heed a directive, compromised physical condition, and failure to make an observation. These four proximal factors were traced to six distal factors: driver experience, training programs, trip scheduling, occupational socialization, task monotony, and government regulations. These findings are discussed in terms of the human factors literature, a widely accepted body of knowledge dealing with accident causation and prevention. The human factors perspective validates the qualitative approach used in this project as appropriate for identifying obscure, contributory factors that otherwise might be overlooked in quantitative motor carrier accident research. These contextual factors are significant in the development of effective public policy designed to enhance the safety of motor carrier operations.