Citation

Dilich M, Kopernik D, Goebelbecker J. Accid. Reconstr. J. 2013; 23(3): 11-17.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Hindsight bias refers to the tendency for those observing an accident after its occurrence to believe the accident was more foreseeable for those involved than it actually was. It has important implications in highway safety research because understanding accident causes is critical to developing safer roads, and in the legal arena, because hindsight may bias judgments of fault against drivers involved in accidents. This paper surveys the research on hindsight bias to determine its impact on accident analysis. An example of a serious traffic accident and its reconstruction is presented to demonstrate the role of hindsight bias in determining cause and judgement of fault. The authors discuss the science of traffic accident reconstruction and they suggest debiasing techniques to mitigate the impacts of hindsight bias. (TRID)