James Thompson

Research Interests

Experimental Psychology Psychology Road Safety

Dr James Thompson

Grant-Funded Researcher (B)

Office of Engineering and Information Technology

College of Engineering and Information 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 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).

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

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

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 WoS1
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 WoS7
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 WoS8
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 WoS9 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 Scopus17 WoS15 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 Scopus49 WoS42 Europe PMC18

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.

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.

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

Connect With Me

External Profiles

Other Links