Vision
To undertake road safety research that is valuable to and has an impact on our community, stakeholders and government.
In 2018, the Road Safety Research Collaboration (RSRC) was established as a strategic partnership between the Queensland Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) and the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). Made up of over a dozen full-time research academics and scholars, the RSRC is fast becoming the leading road safety research centre in Queensland, bringing a dynamic, multidisciplinary perspective to road safety research.
The RSRC works closely with key Government partners including MAIC, Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR), and Queensland Police Service (QPS), as well as industry and other end-users, to achieve high level, applied research outcomes that positively impact the lives and safety of Queensland's road users and community. The RSRC's applied research is uniquely positioned to influence policy as it focuses on ways to target illegal behaviour and high-risk groups. The RSRC is the first specialist road safety research centre to be established and funded at an Australian regional university.
Research focus areas
While focusing primarily on human behaviour, the team explores the aetiology and outcomes of high-risk driving behaviours and most importantly, how to best alleviate and control its impact on our community. Some of the research undertaken by the RSRC team recently has focused on impaired driving, distraction, speeding behaviour, and older road users. A sample of topics within the focus areas is listed below.
Impaired Driving
Impaired driving is a key priority area for the RSRC. Our projects are currently investigating legal and non-legal influences on impaired driving, as well as the effects of medically prescribed cannabis on driving performance.
Contact: Bevan
Distracted Driving
Our distracted driving projects aim to maximise the impact of legal countermeasures on engagement in illegal mobile phone use while driving behaviours. Currently, we are exploring both the perspectives of Police and offenders concerning the use and enforcement of phone use while driving.
Contact: Verity
Crash Data
We are currently examining crash data within the last decade to determine the most salient predictors of motor vehicle collisions. This information will be used to help design countermeasures to combat such factors.
Contact: Verity
Fatigue
UniSC is undertaking research into the characteristics and determinants of fatigued driving. In addition, this project will investigate the factors and influences associated with drivers’ current readiness and resistance to change their fatigue-related driving behaviour.
Contact: Bevan
Older Drivers
Watch this space!
Contact: Kayla
Young Drivers
Our 3-year longitudinal study on learner and provisional drivers will investigate the changes in road rule compliance as the younger drivers transition through the graduated driver licensing system.
Contact: Verity
