Current projects

Completed projects

2026

Cognitive dissonance and phone use while driving

This project aimed to understand dissonance reduction strategies for phone use while driving by employing interviews (study 1) and a cross-sectional survey (study 2).  

This project is complete. There are three manuscripts associated with this project. One has been published, the second remains under review, and the third is currently being drafted for submission.  

Publication:

Truelove, V., Nicolls, M., Briggs, G., & Wells, H. (2026). “It's one of those things where it's like, I shouldn't do it, but I still do”: An application of cognitive dissonance theory to phone use while driving. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 121, Article 103680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2026.103680 

Community perception of police vehicles

This project involved interviewing Queensland drivers about their perceptions and experiences with varying police vehicles.    

Publication:

Anderson, L., & Buckley, L. (2026). Designed to deter: Community perceptions of police vehicles, markings and the certainty of apprehension and punishment. Policing: An International Journal, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-08-2025-0163  

Development of the Speeding Moral Disengagement scale

This project intended to validate a new measure of attitudes about speeding. 

This project is complete and the manuscript is currently under review. 

Diffusion of speeding-related misinformation

This project proposed to identify misinformation related to speeding that is disseminated via media and social media. Further, the project aimed to identify how cognitive, environmental and emotional factors contribute to how this information is perceived and spread.

This project is complete and the manuscript is currently under review. 

Driving in sync: Group identity, norms, and driving behaviour

The project explored the relationships between drivers’ perceived group identity on the road, normative conflicts, and self-report driving behaviours.

Publication:

Nicolls, M., & Love, S. (2026). Driving in sync? Applying the Normative Conflict Model to driver behavior. Journal of Safety Research, 97, 431-439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2026.04.006 

Drug driving perceptions project 

This project examined the impact of cocaine's inclusion in roadside drug testing on Queensland drivers' perceptions of deterrence, behaviour, and road safety, including the influence of social media on avoiding detection.    

This project is complete with one manuscript published and one manuscript currently under review. 

Publication:

Anderson, L., Schoots, K., & Truelove, V. (2026). Understanding roadside drug testing (RDT) in a digital age: awareness, deterrence, legitimacy, and technology-driven avoidance among drivers. Policing and Society, Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2026.2693147   

Enhancing speed compliance: A pilot study of mobile point-to-point speed detection in urban and rural Queensland (MIRAA funded)

This project aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of mobile point-to-point speed enforcement using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology. By deploying mobile ANPR cameras across diverse Queensland locations, the study sought to identify optimal conditions for speed monitoring, improve compliance, and reduce speeding-related road trauma. This project also included a survey component, which aimed to explore how QLD drivers perceive different speed enforcement methods, compared to mobile average speed cameras.

This project is complete. The first manuscript is currently in press, with two manuscripts currently under review. 

Publication:

Love, S., Anderson, L., Truelove, V., & Larue, G. (In press). Understanding public perceptions about contemporary speed enforcement methods: The pros and cons of mobile average speed cameras. Journal of Safety Research.

Evaluating the impact of crowdsourced enforcement alerts on driver speed

This project examined the real-world impact of crowdsourced enforcement alerts on driver speed using Waze and other navigation apps that provide enforcement alerts.

This project is complete and the manuscript is currently under review. 

Looking into the effectiveness, and use of, modern vehicles in reducing Queensland rear-end crashes

This project aims to (i) estimate the safety benefits of in-vehicle safety assistive technologies (adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking) in reducing and mitigating the severity of rear-end crashes in Queensland, and (ii) investigate how drivers understand, set, and use such technology in their vehicles.   

This project is complete. The first manuscript has been published, and the second manuscript is currently under review. 

Publication:

Nicolls, M., Engeland, J., & Larue, G. S. (2026). A content analysis exploring adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning systems in vehicle manuals. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 118, Article 103549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2026.103549 

Retrospective, longitudinal analysis of young drivers progressing through the licensing system in Queensland: Does early offending behaviour predict future offending behaviour?

This study has undertaken an exploratory, retrospective, longitudinal analysis of drivers traffic offence and crash involvement histories for all young drivers entering the Queensland licensing system as a P1 licence holder from 1 January 2008 onwards.   

This project is complete and the manuscript is currently under review. 

Social media discussions of driving and alcohol and/or other drug use

This project provided the feasibility for a larger study and seeks to involve young adults to assess their social media feeds for driving and alcohol and/or other drug use content. The study is unique in not relying on the recall of young adults and seeks to assess less obvious placement.

This project is complete. The first manuscript has been published, and the second manuscript is currently under review. 

Publication:

Buckley, L., & Nicolls, M. (2026). Bystanding to prevent drink-driving: Young adults' descriptions of factors that promote and restrict their behavior. Journal of Safety Research, 96, 285-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2026.01.011 

State enforcement review project

This project compared public perceptions of road rule enforcement across four Australian states, focusing on deterrence, police legitimacy, and technology's role in traffic enforcement to improve road safety outcomes.  

This project is complete. The first manuscript has been published, the second manuscript is in press, and the third is currently under review. 

Publications:

Anderson, L., & Truelove, V. (2025). Speeding and deterrence: A comparative analysis of police officer enforcement and camera-based systems. Policing and Society, 36(3), 342-361. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2025.2573332 

Truelove, V., & Anderson, A. (In press). I see you watching me watching you: The influence of social media and navigation applications on police and camera-based deterrence. Journal of Criminology.

The role of personality in speeding deterrence

This project investigated the role that specific personality traits and past speeding behaviours play in deterrence.

Publication:

Love, S., & Truelove, V. (2026). The role of driver profiles in speeding deterrrence: Examining interactions between speeding, personality, and risk perceptions. Journal of Safety Research, 97, 207-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2026.03.002 

Young drivers and changes in risky road behaviours across the GDL phases

This project sought to incorporate an understanding of how perceptions of change in licensing, particularly Ls, through Ps, into Opens changes perceived risk and actual risk behaviours (e.g., passenger and driving and alcohol/ other drug use). The project was particularly interested in such perceptions and behaviours in regional Queensland.

Publications:

Buckley, L., & Watling, H. (2026). A narrative review of factors associated with drink driving and drug driving in rural areas from a socioecological perspective. Transport Reviews, 46(2), 196-222. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2025.2561611 

Buckley, L., Truelove, V., & Love, S. (2025). What does the research tell us about contributory factors related to inattention and driving in rural areas? A systematic review. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 222, Article 108246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2025.108246 

2025

Beach driver offender project

The purpose of this project was to further investigate factors that impact the decision to offend in unique locations such as beaches. Furthermore, this project investigated the impact of enforcement by QPWS compared with QPS.

Publications:

Anderson, L., & Clark, M. (2025). Risky driving and enforcement legitimacy on Queensland beaches: A study of offending and legitimacy. Journal of Road Safety, 36(2), 23–36. https://doi.org/10.33492/JRS-D-25-1-2472594 

Anderson, L., & Love, S. (2024). Situational Action Theory to understand risky driving behaviours in beach environments. Journal of Road Safety, 35(2), 14-23. https://doi.org/10.33492/JRS-D-24-2-2311315 

Does social media influence driving behaviour? A preliminary investigation of the relationship between social media use, certainty of apprehension and rule compliance

This project examined the relationships between exposure to road safety/driving related content on social media, perceptions towards road safety and driving behaviour/rule compliance.

Publications:

Nicolls, M., Truelove, V., Mulgrew, K. E., & Stefanidis, K. B. (2024). Does exposure to online content encouraging illegal driving influence behaviour? Exploring perspectives of different age groups. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 105, 154-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2024.07.004

Nicolls, M., Truelove, V., & Stefanidis, K. B. (2025). Investigating perspectives towards online content that promotes road safety: A qualitative study across three age groups. Journal of Safety Research, 92, 133-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2024.11.018 

Truelove, V., Nicolls, M., & Oviedo-Trespalacios, O. (2025). “I probably feel slightly more invincible”. The impact of technology that discloses enforcement locations on drivers’ behavior. Safety Science, 181, Article 106707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106707 

2024

Investigation of the environmental, person, and vehicle characteristics associated with rear-end collisions in Queensland

This project aimed to understand the environmental, person, and vehicle characteristics associated with rear-end collisions using Queensland crash data using data mining techniques.

Publication:

Swain, R., & Larue, G. S. (2024). Looking back in the rearview: Insights into Queensland's rear-end crashes. Traffic Injury Prevention, 25(2), 138–146. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2023.2267710 

Situational action theory and the illegal use of mobile phones while driving

This project aimed to apply situational action theory to explain phone use while driving (incorporating both situational and personal factors). The project was also used to understand phone use while driving in different environments (e.g., regional vs metropolitan).

Publications:

Truelove, V., Anderson, L., Love, S., & Wyer, T. (2024). Texting, talking, trawling and tunes: Risk perceptions, phone dependence and different types of phone use while driving behaviors. Traffic Injury Prevention, 26(4), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2423008 

Wyer, T., Love, S., Anderson, L., & Truelove, V. (2024). Location, location, location! An application of situational action theory to phone use while driving in different environments. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 106, 356-369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2024.08.020 

The effectiveness of interventions / campaigns to reduce mobile phone use while driving: A systematic review

This project aimed to investigate the effectiveness of messaging approaches /interventions used to decrease distracted driving. It also aimed to evaluate the various messaging approaches / interventions (i.e., theories used/content of messages/research designs). 

Publication:

Nicolls, M., Truelove, V., & Stefanidis, K. B. (2024). Examining the impact of interventions in reducing self-reported engagement in distracted driving: A systematic review. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 202, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2024.107608 

2023

Content analysis of apps used for avoiding police detection for traffic violations    

This study aimed to identify phone applications that are used to avoid detection for speeding and other road rule violations. This information is important in identifying ways that drivers avoid detection through these applications, and to highlight ways that current countermeasures can be improved. 

Publication:

Truelove, V., Nicolls, M., Stefanidis, K. B., & Oviedo-Trespalacios, O. (2023). Road rule enforcement and where to find it: An investigation of applications used to avoid detection when violating traffic rules. Journal of Safety Research, 87, 431-445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.08.015 

Content analysis of Facebook content relating to mobile phone detection cameras and enforcement

This project explored Facebook content, attitudes, and behaviours surrounding mobile phone detection cameras and penalties. 

Publication:

Stefanidis, K. B., Schiemer, C., Freeman, J., Mulgrew, K., Oviedo-Trespalacios, O., & Truelove, V. (2023). Community narratives on Facebook regarding mobile phone use while driving and road policing technologies. Traffic Injury Prevention, 24(7), 592-598. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2023.2224475