Citation

Foot R, Doniol-Shaw G. Cogn. Technol. Work 2008; 10(1): 41-51.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10111-007-0076-x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The reappearance of the tram in French cities over the past 20 years has stimulated innovation. Ensuring the attractiveness of this transit mode has meant conveying a distinctly modern image of the system. Inherent in the resurgence of this transit mode, a safety device, in the form of a monitoring system (the "dead-man device" in rail parlance) intended to mitigate risks related to driver blackout, has been reconfigured. This new device, inspired by subway systems, has been introduced without inciting any real inquiry into either the benefits or consequences, in terms of the conductor's role and transport safety, arising from such an alternative form of tramway monitoring. An analysis of the process by which the mode of monitoring has been implemented serves to examine and reconsider, at least in part, the certification and regulatory system that accompanies tramway renovation projects in France.

Language: en