Dr James Thompson

Grant-Funded Researcher (B)

Centre for Automotive Safety Research

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Dr James Thompson has been a Research Fellow at the Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) since 2015. He is part of the in-depth crash investigation team at CASR and has recently worked on projects examining rear-end crashes, road safety in regional and remote areas, the safety of trains at passive level crossings and road trauma involving motorcyclists. He received his PhD from the University of Adelaide in 2014 for a thesis examining the road safety and mobility of older drivers who live in rural areas compared to those who live in urban areas.

My Research
Career
Publications
Grants and Funding
Contact

My research largely falls within the human behaviour side of road safety and I have recently worked on projects examining rear-end crashes, road safety in regional and remote areas, the safety of trains at passive level crossings, road trauma involving motorcyclists and collisions between older pedestrians and motor vehicles.

I am available to supervise students for Honours and HDR programs. Students will be able to develop projects within the many areas of road user behavioural research. These include, but are not limited to, distraction (e.g., mobile phone use), the association between mental health and crashes (as a cause and consequence of crash involvement), road safety education, hazard perception abilities, cognitive and functional testing for relicensing, safety and mobility of older and younger drivers, the association of fatigue and crashes, and risky driving behaviour (alcohol/drug use, speeding).

Appointments

Date	Position	Institution name
2023 - 2026	Member of the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology Lower Risk Human Research Ethics Committee	University of Adelaide
2015 - ongoing	Research Fellow	University of Adelaide
2014 - 2015	Research Assistant	University of South Australia
2011 - 2011	Psychology 2 Tutor	University of Adelaide
2011 - 2014	Research Assistant	University of New South Wales
2009 - 2014	Postgraduate Student	University of Adelaide

Education

Date	Institution name	Country	Title
2009 - 2014	The University of Adelaide	Australia	PhD
2007 - 2007	The University of Adelaide	Australia	Bachelor of Health Sciences (Hons)
2004 - 2006	The University of Adelaide	Australia	Bachelor of Arts

Research Interests

Experimental Psychology Psychology Road Safety

Journals

Year	Citation
2024	Farries, K., Baldock, M., Thompson, J., Stokes, C., & Unsworth, C. A. (2024). Entrapment and extraction of wheelchairs at flange gaps with and without flange gap fillers at pedestrian railway crossings. Disability and Rehabilitation Assistive Technology, 19(7), 2471-2481. DOI
2023	Thompson, J., & Baldock, M. (2023). Older pedestrians hit by motor vehicles in South Australia. Journal of Road Safety, 34(1), 49-63. DOI
2021	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., & Stokes, C. (2021). An Evaluation of Retro-Reflective Screens to Aid Conspicuity of Freight Trains at Passive-Control Level Crossings. Journal of Road Safety, 32(2), 22-29. DOI Scopus1
2020	Doecke, S., Thompson, J., & Stokes, C. (2020). How do we prevent and mitigate crashes? Evidence from Australian at-scene in-depth crash investigations. Journal of Road Safety, 31(2), 35-43. DOI Scopus9 WoS3
2020	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., & Lindsay, V. (2020). Motorcycle crashes resulting in hospital admissions in South Australia: crash characteristics and injury patterns. Journal of Road Safety, 31(1), 10-19. DOI Scopus7 WoS5
2020	Thompson, J. P., Wundersitz, L., & Raftery, S. (2020). Evaluation of the performance of Alcohol and Drug Awareness Courses provided in the ACT. Journal of Road Safety, 31(1), 30-39. DOI WoS1
2018	Thompson, J., Mackenzie, J., Dutschke, J., Baldock, M., Raftery, S., & Wall, J. (2018). A trial of retrofitted advisory collision avoidance technology in government fleet vehicles. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 115, 34-40. DOI Scopus14 WoS7 Europe PMC3
2018	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., & Dutschke, J. (2018). Trends in the crash involvement of older drivers in Australia. Accident; analysis and prevention, 117, 262-269. DOI Scopus16 WoS10 Europe PMC6
2016	Thompson, J. P., Baldock, M., Mathias, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2016). A comparison of reported driving self-regulation by older adults and GPS-based measurements of their actual driving exposure. Road and Transport Research Group, 25(3), 16-27. Scopus6 WoS7
2015	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., Mathias, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2015). A GPS-based examination of the mobility and exposure to risk of older drivers from rural and urban areas. Journal of the Australasian College of Road Safety, 26(1), 31-39.
2013	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., Mathias, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2013). Do older rural drivers self-regulate their driving? The effects of increased driving importance and limited alternative transportation. Australasian College of Road Safety Journal, 24(1), 30-42. WoS3
2013	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., Mathias, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2013). An examination of the environmental, driver and vehicle factors associated with the serious and fatal crashes of older rural drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 50, 768-775. DOI Scopus44 WoS33 Europe PMC13

Conference Papers

Year	Citation
2022	Wundersitz, L., Edwards, S. A., & Thompson, J. (2022). Prevention and mitigation of fatal crashes in regional/remote areas.. In 2022 Australasian Road Safety Conference Proceedings. Christchurch, New Zealand.
2022	Thompson, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2022). Prevalence and role of fatigue in South Australian crashes. In 2022 Australasian Road Safety Conference Proceedings. Christchurch, New Zealand.
2018	Thompson, J., Wundersitz, L., & Raftery, S. (2018). Evaluation of the performance of Alcohol and Drug Awareness Courses currently provided in the ACT. In Proceedings of the 2018 Australasian Road Safety Conference (pp. 1-3). online: Australasiana College of Road Safety.
2017	Mackenzie, J., Thompson, J., & Dutschke, J. (2017). Development of a device suitable for naturalistic studies of passing distances between cyclists and vehicles. In Australasian Road Safety Conference. online: Australian College of Road Safety.
2016	Raftery, S., Wundersitz, L., Thompson, J., Woolley, J. E., & Oxley, J. (2016). The safety of child passengers of adult cyclists. In Proceedings of the 2016 Australasian Road Safety Conference. Canberra, Australia.
2016	Ponte, G., & Baldock, M. R. (2016). An examination of the effectiveness and acceptability of mobile phone blocking technology among drivers of corporate fleet vehicles. In Proceedings of the 2016 Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC2016) (pp. 1-12). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: ACRS.
2016	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., Raftery, S., Mackenzie, J., Wall, J., & Iwanski, K. (2016). The Transport for New South Wales FleetCAT (Fleet Collision Avoidance Technology) Trial: Driver Attitudes to the Technology. In Proceedings of the 2016 Australasian Road Safety Conference (pp. 1 page). online: ACRS.
2013	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., Mathias, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2013). The benefits of measuring driving exposure using objective GPS-based methods and subjective self-report methods concurrently. In Proceedings of the 2013 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policy & Education Conference (pp. 1-11). online: ACRS.
2010	Thompson, J., Baldock, M., Mathias, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2010). Older drivers in rural and urban areas: Comparisons of crash, serious injury, and fatality rates. In Proceedings of the 2010 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference (pp. 1-10). www.rsconference.com: Australian Transport Council.
2008	Baldock, M., Thompson, J., & Mathias, J. (2008). Self-regulation of driving behaviour among older drivers: Findings from a five year follow up. In R. Anderson (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2008 Australasian road safety research, policing and education conference (pp. 470-478). CD: University of Adelaide.

Conference Items

Year	Citation
2022	Wundersitz, L., Palamara, P., Brameld, K., Raftery, S., Thompson, J., Govorko, M., & Parry, M. (2022). How can we improve road safety in regional and remote areas?. Poster session presented at the meeting of Safety 2022 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. Adelaide.
2016	Thompson, J., Baldock, M. R., Mathias, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2016). A comparison of reported driving self-regulation by older adults and GPS-based measurements of their actual driving exposure. Poster session presented at the meeting of Sixth International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology (ICTTP2016). Brisbane, Australia.

Report for External Bodies

Year	Citation
2024	Doecke, S., Elsegood, M., Thompson, J., Ponte, G., Edwards, S., & O'Donovan, S. (2024). Preventing and mitigating truck crashes: results from 100 in-depth no-blame truck crash investigations (CASR216). Adelaide: Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2024	Thompson, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2024). Mobile phone detection cameras in South Australia (CASR225). Adelaide: Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2024	Thompson, J., & Ponte, G. (2024). Survey of cyclist travel and crash experiences in the Australian Capital Territory (CASR230). Adelaide: Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2023	Thompson, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2023). The contribution of driver fatigue to casualty and fatal crashes in South Australia (CASR197). Adelaide: Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2023	Thompson, J., Lindsay, V., & Baldock, M. (2023). Crashes involving road users who have recently arrived in South Australia (CASR207). Adelaide: Centre for automotive Safety Researchy.
2023	Doecke, S., Thompson, J. P., Elsegood, M. E., & Ponte, G. (2023). Profiling head on crashes in South Australia (CASR175). Adelaide: Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2022	Thompson, J. (2022). Older pedestrians hit by motor vehicles in the Australian Capital Territory (CASR205). Adelaide: Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2022	Baldock, M., & Thompson, J. (2022). Motorcycle protective clothing in the ACT (CASR208). Adelaide: Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2021	Wundersitz, L., Edwards, S. -A., & Thompson, J. (2021). Prevention and mitigation of fatal crashes in regional and remote areas (CASR193). Adelaide: Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2019	Wundersitz, L. N., Palamara, P., Brameld, K., Raftery, S., Govorko, M., & Thompson, J. (2019). National view on regional and remote road safety (AP-R603-19). Sydney: Austroads.
2019	Wundersitz, L. N., Palamara, P., Brameld, K., Thompson, J., Raftery, S., & Govorko, M. (2019). Guide to Road Safety Part 5: Road safety for regional and remote areas (AGRS05-19). Sydney: Austroads.
2017	Wundersitz, L. N., Bailey, T. J., & Thompson, J. P. (2017). Young Adult Licensing Trends - 2017 Update (RACV Research Report 17/02). Noble Park North (VIC): Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) Limited.
2016	Raftery, S., Oxley, J., Thompson, J., & Wundersitz, L. (2016). Transportation of children with bicycle seats, trailers, and other carriers: considerations for safety (CASR139). Centre for Automotive Safety Research.
2016	Baldock, M. R., Thompson, J., Dutschke, J., Kloeden, C., Lindsay, V., & Woolley, J. (2016). Older road users: Emerging trends (AP-R530-16). Sydney, NSW: Austroads.
2016	Ponte, G., Baldock, M., & Thompson, J. (2016). Examination of the effectiveness and acceptability of mobile phone blocking technology among drivers of corporate fleet vehicles (CASR140). Centre for Automotive Safety Research.

2023 Vehicle speeds through ACT school zones

2023 A survey of cyclist travel and crash experiences in the ACT

2021 Road Safety Community Grants Program - Older pedestrian crashes in the ACT

2021 Road Safety Innovation Fund - In-depth no-blame investigation of crashes involving trucks

Position: Grant-Funded Researcher (B)
Phone: 83130917
Email: james.thompson@adelaide.edu.au
Fax: 82324995
Campus: North Terrace
Building: Engineering Annex, floor 1
Org Unit: Centre for Automotive Safety Research

Dr James Thompson

Appointments

Education

Research Interests

Journals

Conference Papers

Conference Items

Report for External Bodies

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