Professor Samantha Jamson

Profile

• Professor of Transport Psychology, Institute for Transport Studies (ITS), University of Leeds
• Deputy Director, Institute  for Transport Studies (ITS), University of Leeds

Professional Engagements

• Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society

Current projects

Trustonomy – Building Acceptance and Trust in Autonomous Mobility

uCARe – The overall aim of uCARe is to reduce the overall pollutant emissions of the existing combustion engine vehicle fleet by providing vehicle users with simple and effective tools to decrease their individual emissions and to support stakeholders with an interest in local air quality in selecting feasible intervention strategies that lead to the desired user behaviour.

Responsibilities

• Deputy Director

Research interests

Professor Jamson is a Chartered Psychologist at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds. She is a member of the Human Factors and Safety Group, a multidisciplinary team undertaking research in road safety and driver behaviour. With twenty years experience in the field, she has worked on a variety of research projects using driving simulators and instrumented cars as evaluation tools. She has been principal investigator on a range of projects, including evaluations of driver support systems, road design, and driver impairment. She managed a European project developing metrics for driver distraction and has since been involved in further national and European projects to extend this work. Her research involves collaboration with national and international policymakers (Department for Transport, Highways Agency, European Commission) as well as industrial  collaboration for both research and PhD supervision.

My research portfolio can be broadly split into two distinct themes. The first relates to user interaction with information displays, whether they are internal to the vehicle or present in the external road environment. The location of the information, the way in which it is presented to the users and the users’ expectations is one area of my research which has been externally funded, alongside supporting a number of my PhD students. The second broad theme of my research is that of behavioural adaptation which describes the effect that a “treatment” or “system” has on individuals – and that effect can sometimes be quite unexpected. My own work on behavioural adaptation has led to numerous peer reviewed papers and a co-edited book, with contributions that advance both the theoretical and methodological underpinnings, as well as policy applications.

I am an invited member of the Editorial Board of Transportation Research Part F, one of the leading journals in the field of Traffic Safety. Along with the usual responsibilities of helping to ensure quality and remit, I am active in suggesting topics for special issues or position papers. I regularly review for other journals in my field (Accident Analysis and Prevention, Human Factors, Ergonomics).

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Psychology
• PhD

Student education

I contribute to four Masters modules, focussing on road safety and health.

Current PhD students:

• Yvonne Taylor “Fatigued driving in shift workers – the impact on road safety
• Ian Greenwood “The politics of road death”
• Alexandros Kontotasios "The effect of fatigue in multi-modal operators"

Please get in touch if you wish to discuss PhD topics

Lecturer:

• Road Safety Management
• Transport and Public Health

Research groups and institutes

• Human Factors and Safety

Current postgraduate researchers

• Yeni Noviyanti Sagala
• Khalid Aljohani