The Transport and Infrastructure theme is the Centre’s flagship theme with a range of leading edge research projects focused on the evaluation of road user behaviour, road infrastructure design and evaluation, the design of future vehicle and infrastructure systems, and the prevention of road trauma. These projects are underpinned by leading edge research infrastructure, including USC’s advanced driving simulator, the Centre’s On-Road Capability (ORCA), which is a fully instrumented vehicle supporting the naturalistic measurement of driving behaviour and performance, and advanced human performance measurement equipment (e.g. eye tracking).

Projects in this theme include Professor Salmon’s ARC Future Fellowship program of research which involves the application of novel systems analysis and design methods to better understand and prevent the fatal five road trauma behaviours, Associate Professor Read’s ARC DECRA project on the safe introduction of autonomous vehicles, and an ARC Discovery grant involving the use of on-road studies to assess interactions between different forms of road user and the redesign of intersections. We also conduct on-going research in rail level crossing safety, following the completion of a four-year ARC Linkage program involving the redesign of rail level crossing environments.

The long term impact of this theme’s contribution will be the achievement of new reductions in trauma in the transportation domains based on the adoption of new theories, methodologies, and interventions in practice.

Current projects

• A new complex systems approach to road trauma
• Distributed situation awareness and intersection design
• Safe Introduction of Autonomous Vehicles (SAVI) Project
• Systems thinking and rail level crossing design
• Behavioural Assessment Tool for Rail Level Crossings (BAT-RLX)
• The Cyclist Reporting of Incidents Tool (CRIT)
• On-road studies of driver behaviour

Key researchers

• Associate Professor Gemma Read
• Professor Paul Salmon

Recent publications

Gemma J. M. Read, Vanessa Beanland, Neville A. Stanton, Eryn Grant, Nicholas Stevens, Michael G. Lenné, Miles Thomas, Christine M. Mulvihill, Guy H. Walker & Paul M. Salmon. From interfaces to infrastructure: extending ecological interface design to re-design rail level crossings. Cognition, Technology & Work 39–49

Gemma J.M. Read, Jolene A. Cox , Adam Hulme , Anjum Naweed , Paul M. Salmon. What factors influence risk at rail level crossings? A systematic review and synthesis of findings using systems thinking. Safety Science.

Guy Walker, Leonardo Moraes Naves Mendes, Michael Lenne, Kristie Young, Nicholas Stevens, Gemma Read,Vanessa Beanland, Ashleigh Filtness, Neville Stanton, Paul Salmon. Modelling driver decision‑making at railway level crossings using the abstraction decomposition space. Cognitive, Technology and Work.

Anjum Naweed, Janet E. Jackson, Gemma J. M. Read. Ghost trains: Australian rail in the early stages of the global COVID‐19 pandemic. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries

Salmon, P. M., Read, G. J. M., Thompson, J., McLean, S., McClure, R. (2020). Computational modelling and systems ergonomics: a system dynamics model of drink driving-related trauma prevention. Ergonomics. 965-980 

Pöllänen, E., Read, G. J. M., Lane, B. R., Thompson, J., & Salmon, P.M. (2020). Who is to blame for crashes involving autonomous vehicles? Exploring blame attribution across the road transport system. Ergonomics.63(5), pp. 525-537

Thompson, J. Read, G. J. M., Wijnands, J., Salmon, P. M. (2020). The perils of perfect performance; considering the effects of introducing autonomous vehicles on rates of car Vs cyclist conflict. Ergonomics. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2020.1739326

Read, G. J. M., Salmon, P. M., Goode, N., van Mulken, M.. Lenné, M. G., Stevens, N. & Walker, G. H. (2020). Interaction-centred design: an end user evaluation of road intersection concepts developed using the Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit (CWA-DT). Ergonomics, 63:10, 1221-1239

Salmon, P. M., Read, G. J. M., Stevens, N. A., Walker, G. H., Beanland, V., McClure, R., Hughes, B.., Johnston, I., Stanton, N. A. (2019). Using the abstraction hierarchy to identify how the purpose and structure of road transport systems contributes to road trauma. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Vol 3.

For inquiries regarding the Transport and Infrastructure theme please contact Dr Gemma Read (07) 5456 5296, gread@usc.edu.au