Industry Standards for Passenger Transit, Rail Vehicle Specifications

Human Engineering


Operator Ergonomics

Within transit organizations there is a wide variety of vehicle operator physical shapes and sizes. In the past it was common to cite 5th percentile female to 95th percentile male for the operators cab ergonomic studies. However, even the 5th percentile female to 95th percentile male range frequently does not accommodate the largest (or roundest) of typical transit system vehicle operators.

The following SAE standards have documented ergonomic ranges for typical truck and bus drivers, which are directly applicable for passenger rail vehicle operators.

Standard: SAE J680 - Location and Operation of Instruments and Controls in Motor Truck Cabs
Purpose: This recommended practice provides typical locations and operations of instruments and controls recommended for adoption by manufacturers of trucks intended to avoid confusion when drivers shift from one truck to another. This document is useful to rail vehicle applications since many of the same controls and control methods exist on rail vehicle operator's cabs.
Criteria: Specify compliance with standard
Usage: ... shall be according to SAE J680
Standard: SAE J1517 - Driver Selected Seat Position
Purpose: This recommended practice provides a driver selected seat position tool to describe where certain percentages of drivers positioned in horizontally adjustable seats in various workspace arrangements.
Criteria: Specify compliance with standard
Usage: ... shall be according to SAE J1517
Standard: SAE J1522 - Driver Stomach Position
Purpose: This recommended practice describes two-dimensional 95th percentile truck driver side view, seated stomach contours for horizontally adjustable seats. There is one contour and three locating lines to accommodate male to female ratios of 50:50, 75:25 and 90:10 to 90:55.
Criteria: Specify compliance with standard
Usage: ... shall be according to SAE J1522
Standard: SAE J1050 - Describing and Measuring the Driver's Field of View
Purpose: This recommended practice establishes methods for describing and measuring the drivers field of view. This document describes three methods for measuring the direct and indirect fields of view in the extent of obstructions within those fields.
Criteria: Specify compliance with standard
Usage: ... shall be according to SAE J1050
Standard: SAE J287 - Driver Hand Control Reach
Purpose: This recommended practice provides information for the design of operator workplaces with respect to and reach envelopes and maneuverability.
Criteria: Specify compliance with standard
Usage: ... shall be according to SAE J287
Standard: SAE J1139 - Direction-Of-Motion Stereotypes for Automotive Hand Controls
Purpose: This recommended practice provides design recommendations for the direction of motion of hand controls found in various vehicles. These recommendations are based on recent and past human factors research and are important considerations in the design of control layouts.
Criteria: Specify compliance with standard
Usage: ... shall be according to SAE J1139