Road Safety Research
Both individually and in collaboration with:
Mark Symmons has an ongoing and productive track record in a variety of road safety topics.
Ecodriving
Developed primarily in Europe, ecodriving involves a number of driving techniques and behaviours aimed at reducing fuel consumption, including travelling at a speed that maximises engine efficiency (usually 80-90 km/h) and paying more attention to the traffic environment, particularly downstream, in order to conserve momentum and minimise stopping and starting. Such behaviours should also improve road safety, but the evidence is less certain in that regard.
Projects include:
- A funded literature review
- A field trial with heavy vehicle drivers that resulted in a 27% fuel saving
- A larger corporate fleet field trial is in progress
- An investigation of the correlation between a vehicle's road safety performance and its fuel economy
Motorcycle safety
A variety of methods have been used in a range of projects:
- national surveys
- on-road and riding range observation
- riding simulator
A number of completed and ongoing projects relate in particular to comparisons between new, long-term, and returned riders (returned are those who had a licence and rode some time ago, then stopped riding for some years before taking it again). A range of publications have addressed this issue, as well as rider attitudes, risk-taking, crash profiles, and hazard perception.
A project newly funded by the ARC will be a significant in-depth case-control study of motorcycle crashes with a particular focus on speed and infrastructure.
Other road safety topics
- Heavy vehicles: With a truck licence and experience in interstate haulage, Mark has published a number of papers on heavy vehicle safety
- Several projects are planned on cyclist safety, with a particular focus on those who mostly ride on-road for recreation, training, or fitness
- Papers on a variety of other topics can be found on the road safety publications page, including mobile phones and driving, and daytime running lights