Understanding psychological determinants of driver error: A case study of the 2024 Kurla bus crash

This study examines the 2024 Kurla BEST electric bus accident in Mumbai, which resulted in seven fatalities and 42 injuries, through the lens of automotive safety and human factors engineering. Despite advancements in vehicle design and automation, human error remains a critical vulnerability in transport systems. The incident involved a driver with minimal exposure to the electric bus’s automatic transmission system, who lost control due to distraction and panic under duress—exacerbated by passenger interference. Using frameworks such as Cognitive Load Theory, the Yerkes-Dodson Law, and the Dunning-Kruger Effect, the paper identifies key psychological and cognitive contributors to the crash. Comparative analyses of similar cases—the 2022 Kobe Expressway crash and the 2021 Tesla Autopilot fatality—underscore the global implications of inadequate driver training and automation complacency. The study employs the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) to categorize latent and active failures, proposing critical interventions: electric vehicle-specific training programs, driver monitoring systems (DMS), advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and improved human-machine interface (HMI) standards. The findings stress the importance of integrating behavioral risk assessment within automotive safety frameworks to address human limitations in increasingly automated transport environments.