Associate Professor Rebecca McLean

Position	Associate Professor
Department	Department of Population Health (Christchurch)
Qualifications	PGDipArts MA PhD (Otago)
Research summary	Transport and Licensing Policy; Road Safety and Accessibility; Injury Epidemiology
Teaching	Teaching PUBH 714 and PUBH 744 Research higher degree student supervision
Memberships	Vice President (Finance and Administration) Australasian College of Road Safety (2021 – present) Governing Council, Australasian College of Road Safety (2019 – present) NZ Chapter Co-Chair, Australasian College of Road Safety (2019 – present) Management Board, Collaboration of Ageing Research Excellence Research Theme (CARE) (2016 -present) Steering Committee, Transport Research Network Research Theme (TRN) (2020 – present)

Research

Rebecca is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health and has a PhD (Public Health) and MA (Psychology) from the University of Otago. Associate Professor McLean previously held a postdoctoral fellowship (Division of Health Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship Award 2013-2015).

Rebecca leads the Transport, Mobility and Health Research Group. Her research uses epidemiological methods, primarily cohort study methodology, to inform policy and programmes to improve public health through the provision of accessible, safe, and sustainable transport.

She has led two Health Research Council of NZ (HRC) funded projects, investigating self-regulation and driving cessation among older drivers (NZPATHS: New Zealand Prospective Older Adult Transport and Health Study, 2015-2022). She was a co-investigator on the New Zealand Drivers Study, a prospective cohort study of 3992 young drivers, which has informed graduating driver licensing (GDL) policy nationally and internationally. She is also an investigator on several young driver projects: GDL compliance and policing theory in Australia; Evaluation of NZ Police licensing programme for young offenders; and the Australian DRIVE project, a cohort study of 20,822 young drivers.

Rebecca is on the Governing Council and Vice President (Finance and Administration) for the Australasian College of Road Safety and is the Co-Chair of the NZ Chapter. She is on the management board for two University of Otago Research Themes (CARE, TRN) and is on the editorial board for leading international journals: Journal of Safety Research and Journal of Road Safety.

Postgraduate research opportunities

Several project opportunities exist with the Transport, Mobility and Health Research Group.

Current and past student projects

Reducing Road Offending Behaviour Using an Integrated Deterrence-based Model (E Hassan)
A descriptive analysis of driving and transportation planning for rural and urban older drivers in New Zealand (C Sreng)
Driving to the Conditions: Driver Behaviour in Youths (L Kettle)
Analysing Media Representation of Bike Lanes in New Zealand (F Grieve)
A Smartphone Course: A Way to Improve Elderly Digital Literacy (J Lin)

Current projects

Principal Investigator, Predictors and impact of driving cessation on older adults and whānau/families (2018-2022, funded by HRC: NZ PATHS)

Past projects

Associate Investigator, Young Adult Compliance (YAC) Project: The road to compliance: Integrating three theories to better understand provisional drivers’ compliance behaviour (2018–2021, funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award to Dr Lyndel Bates, Griffith University)
Associate Investigator, Young Driver DRIVE Cohort Re-linkage Project (2017-2021, funded by NRMA-ACT Road Safety Trust, Australia)
Co-Principal Investigator, Evaluation of the Dunedin Community Driving Programme, (2016-2018, funded by DSM)
Principal Investigator, Older drivers, families and GPs: Navigating the path between mobility and safety (2015-2018, funded by HRC)
Principal Investigator, Testing risk segmentation model for young drivers (2014, funded by New Zealand Transport Agency)
Co-investigator, New Zealand Drivers Study: A follow-up of newly licensed drivers (2005-2013, funded by HRC, ACC, Road Safety Trust)
Co-investigator, Liquor Licensing Support Officer Trial Evaluation (2005, funded by NZ Police)
Co-investigator, Monitoring the ACC Stop Bus Programme (2002-2005, funded by ACC).

Additional details

Awarded a 2018 HRC Project Grant 18/345
Awarded a 2015 HRC Project Grant 15/261
Awarded a Griffith Criminology Institute and School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Visiting Scholars Award (2018)
Awarded invitation to the Commonwealth Science Conference, Bangalore, India, November 2014. Invited by the Royal Society (London) and the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.
Awarded a University of Otago Division of Health Sciences Career Development Programme Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013–2015)

Publications

Cullen, P., Möller, H., Baffsky, R., Martiniuk, A., Senserrick, T., Rogers, K., … McLean, R., … Ivers, R. Q. (2023). Self-harm in adolescence and risk of crash: A 13-year cohort study of novice drivers in New South Wales, Australia. Injury Prevention. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1136/ip-2022-044807

Hassan, E. H. A., Bates, L., McLean, R., & Ready, J. (2022). Influencing driver offending behavior: Using an integrated deterrence-based model. Crime & Delinquency. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/00111287221130950

Bates, L., Seccombe, J., Alexander, M., & McLean, R. (2022). The impact of parenting style on perceptions of police and offending intentions of young drivers: Evidence from Australia. Crime Prevention & Community Safety. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1057/s41300-022-00168-8

Bates, L., Hassan, E. H. A., Soderlind, D., & McLean, R. (2022). Does procedural justice predict intentions to speed? Evidence from a sample of young drivers. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 16, 100709. doi: 10.1016/j.trip.2022.100709

Boufous, S., Möller, H., Patton, G., Woodward, M., Stevenson, M. R., Senserrick, T., McLean, R., … Ivers, R. Q. (2022). Acculturation and risk of traffic crashes in young Asian-born Australian drivers [Brief report]. Injury Prevention. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1136/ip-2022-044718

Journal - Research Article

Taylor, J. E., McLean, R., Samaranayaka, A., & Connolly, M. J. (2022). How does driving anxiety relate to the health and quality of life of older drivers? Journal of Applied Gerontology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/07334648211072540

Journal - Research Article

Bates, L., Anderson, L., & McLean, R. (2021). Exploring young drivers' perceptions of procedurally just policing. Policing, 15(3), 1933-1947. doi: 10.1093/police/paab016

Journal - Research Article

Connor, J., Brookland, R., & Samaranayaka, A. (2021). Older drivers and their future mobility: Views and involvement of their adult children. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 40(1), 55-66. doi: 10.1177/0733464819894545

Journal - Research Article

Butler, M., Brookland, R., Thatcher Shope, J., Kerse, N., & Connolly, M. J. (2020). Medical fitness to drive assessment with older drivers: A qualitative study with general practitioners in New Zealand. Journal of Transport & Health, 17, 100856. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2020.100856

Journal - Research Article

Shope, J. T., Begg, D., & Brookland, R. (2019). Older former drivers’ health, activity, and transport in New Zealand. Journal of Transport & Health, 14, 100559. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2019.04.005

Journal - Research Article

Taylor, J. E., Connolly, M. J., Brookland, R., & Samaranayaka, A. (2018). Understanding driving anxiety in older adults. Maturitas, 118, 51-55. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2018.10.008

Journal - Research Article

Begg, D., Brookland, R., & Connor, J. (2017). Associations of repeated high alcohol use with unsafe driving behaviours, traffic offences, and traffic crashes among young drivers: Findings from the New Zealand Drivers Study. Traffic Injury Prevention, 18(2), 111-117. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2016.1224345

Journal - Research Article

Begg, D., & Brookland, R. (2015). Participation in driver education/training courses during graduated driver licensing, and the effect of a time-discount on subsequent traffic offenses: Findings from the New Zealand Drivers Study. Journal of Safety Research, 55, 13-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2015.07.003

Journal - Research Article

Begg, D. J., Langley, J. D., Brookland, R. L., Ameratunga, S., & Gulliver, P. (2014). Pre-licensed driving experience and car crash involvement during the learner and restricted, licence stages of graduated driver licensing: Findings from the New Zealand Drivers Study. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 62, 153-160. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2013.08.027

Journal - Research Article

Brookland, R., Begg, D., Langley, J., & Ameratunga, S. (2014). Parental influence on adolescent compliance with graduated driver licensing conditions and crashes as a restricted licensed driver: New Zealand Drivers Study. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 69, 30-39. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2013.06.034

Journal - Research Article

Gulliver, P., Begg, D., Brookland, R., Ameratunga, S., & Langley, J. (2013). Learner driver experiences and crash risk as an unsupervised driver. Journal of Safety Research, 46, 41-46. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2013.03.007

Journal - Research Article

Langley, J., Begg, D., Samaranayaka, A., Brookland, R., & Weiss, H. (2013). Unsupervised driving by learner licence holders: Associated characteristics and crash risk. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 60, 24-30. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2013.07.021

Journal - Research Article

Langley, J., Begg, D., Brookland, R., Ameratunga, S., McDowell, A., & Broughton, J. (2012). Establishment of the New Zealand Drivers Study. New Zealand Medical Journal, 125(1357). Retrieved from http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

Langley, J., Begg, D., Brookland, R., Samaranayaka, A., Jordan, H., & Davie, G. (2012). Nonprogression through graduated driver licensing: Characteristics, traffic offending, and reasons for nonprogression. Traffic Injury Prevention, 13(1), 7-13. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2011.635170

Journal - Research Article

Brookland, R., & Begg, D. (2011). Adolescent, and their parents, attitudes towards graduated driver licensing and subsequent risky driving and crashes in young adulthood. Journal of Safety Research, 42(2), 109-115.

Journal - Research Article

Begg, D., Langley, J., Brookland, R., McDowell, A., Ameratunga, S., & Broughton, J. (2009). The opinions of newly licensed drivers in New Zealand on the minimum car driver licensing age and reasons for getting a licence. New Zealand Medical Journal, 122(1306). Retrieved from http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/122-1306/3880/content.pdf

Journal - Research Article

Begg, D., Langley, J., Broughton, J., Brookland, R., Ameratunga, S., & McDowell, A. (2009). New Zealand drivers study: A follow-up study of newly licensed drivers. Injury Prevention, 15(4), e2. doi: 10.1136/ip.2009.021998

Journal - Research Article

Brookland, R., Begg, D., Langley, J., & Ameratunga, S. (2009). Parent and adolescent risky driving behaviours: New Zealand Drivers Study. Journal of the Australasian College of Road Safety, 20(1), 52-59.

Journal - Research Article

Begg, D. J., Brookland, R., Hope, J., Langley, J. D., & Broughton, J. R. (2003). New Zealand drivers study: Developing a methodology for conducting a follow-up study of newly licensed drivers. Journal of Safety Research, 34, 329-336.

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Journal - Research Other

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Health Sciences profile

Associate Professor Rebecca McLean

Research

Postgraduate research opportunities

Current and past student projects

Current projects

Past projects

Additional details

Publications

Contact details

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