Email vanessa.beanland@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 4150
Dr Vanessa Beanland’s broad research areas are applied cognitive psychology and human factors. She uses a combination of research approaches, including laboratory experiments, driving simulator and on-road studies, field observations, incident analyses, surveys interviews and focus groups.
Much of her research focuses on how people detect, process and use information in real-world contexts, with a particular emphasis on transport safety. This includes topics such as how drivers detect potential hazards, or how pedestrians decide whether it is safe to cross an intersection or railway crossing. Her research uses diverse methods, from highly-controlled lab experiments to driving simulators, to field studies and on-road research using instrumented vehicles.
Vanessa currently serves as Director of the Otago Transport Research Network (a University Research Theme) and Chair of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of New Zealand. She served as an Associate Editor for the journal Safety Science from 2017 to 2021.
Vanessa completed a PhD in experimental cognitive psychology at The Australian National University in 2011, and from 2015–2018 she held an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award, examining visual attention in the context of driving. She previously worked at Monash University Accident Research Centre and the University of the Sunshine Coast Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems before moving to the University of Otago in June 2018.
Teaching
Research interests
- Driver distraction, inattention and fatigue
- Driver training and driver licensing policy
- Safety of vulnerable road users (e.g. motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians) and horse riders
- Usability of human-machine interfaces
- Visual attention and visual search for information in real-world contexts (e.g. driving)
- Inattentional blindness and Change blindness
Publications
Beanland, V. (2022). Behavioural adaptation or constraint? The effect of curve proximity on driving behaviour. Transportation Research Part F, 86, 384-391. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2022.03.008
Kuran, C. H. A., Newnam, S., & Beanland, V. (2022). Adaptive non-conform behaviour in accident investigations in the road based heavy goods transport sector. Safety Science, 146, 105539. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105539
Beanland, V., & Cotton, T. (2021, November). Factors influencing route choices of Dunedin cyclists: Use of separated and non-separated bicycle lanes. Verbal presentation at the 3rd Transport Research Network (TRN) Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Beanland, V., & Huemmer, I. (2021). The effectiveness of advanced driver training [Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency research report 677]. Commissioned by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. Wellington, New Zealand: Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. 69p. Retrieved from https://www.nzta.govt.nz
Walker, G., Mendes, L. M. N., Lenne, M., Young, K., Stevens, N., Read, G., Beanland, V., … Salmon, P. (2021). Modelling driver decision-making at railway level crossings using the abstraction decomposition space. Cognition, Technology & Work, 23, 225-237. doi: 10.1007/s10111-020-00659-4
Read, G. J. M., Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., Stanton, N. A., & Salmon, P. M. (2017). Integrating human factors methods and systems thinking for transport analysis and design. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 314p.
Authored Book - Research
Berber, E., Beanland, V., Clacy, A., & Read, G. J. M. (2020). Performance pathways in the sport of dressage: A systems ergonomics approach. In P. M. Salmon, S. McLean, C. Dallat, N. Mansfield, C. Solomon & A. Hulme (Eds.), Human factors and ergonomics in sport: Applications and future directions. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781351060073
Chapter in Book - Research
Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., & Rößger, L. (2015). Psychological factors in seeing motorcylces. In L. Rößger, M. G. Lenné & G. Underwood (Eds.), Increasing motorcycle conspicuity: Design and assessment of interventions to enhance rider safety. (pp. 21-50). Abingdon, UK: Ashgate.
Chapter in Book - Research
Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., & Underwood, G. (2015). Can drivers’ expectations and behaviour around motorcycles be influenced by exposure? In L. Rößger, M. G. Lenné & G. Underwood (Eds.), Increasing motorcycle conspicuity: Design and assessment of interventions to enhance rider safety. (pp. 165-182). Ashgate.
Chapter in Book - Research
Lenné, M. G., Beanland, V., Salmon, P. M., Filtness, A., & Stanton, N. A. (2013). Checking for trains: An on-road study of what drivers actually do at level crossings. In N. Dadashi, A. Scott, J. R. Wilson & A. Mills (Eds.), Rail human factors: Supporting reliability, safety and cost reduction. (pp. 53-59). Leiden, The Netherlands: CRC Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Beanland, V. (2022). Behavioural adaptation or constraint? The effect of curve proximity on driving behaviour. Transportation Research Part F, 86, 384-391. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2022.03.008
Journal - Research Article
Kuran, C. H. A., Newnam, S., & Beanland, V. (2022). Adaptive non-conform behaviour in accident investigations in the road based heavy goods transport sector. Safety Science, 146, 105539. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105539
Journal - Research Article
Read, G. J. M., Beanland, V., Stanton, N. A., Grant, E., Stevens, N., Lenné, M. G., … Salmon, P. M. (2021). From interfaces to infrastructure: Extending ecological interface design to re-design rail level crossings. Cognition, Technology & Work, 23, 3-21. doi: 10.1007/s10111-019-00583-2
Journal - Research Article
Walker, G., Mendes, L. M. N., Lenne, M., Young, K., Stevens, N., Read, G., Beanland, V., … Salmon, P. (2021). Modelling driver decision-making at railway level crossings using the abstraction decomposition space. Cognition, Technology & Work, 23, 225-237. doi: 10.1007/s10111-020-00659-4
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Walsh, E. I., & Pammer, K. (2020). Undergraduate students' perceptions of and engagement in research participation to fulfill an introductory psychology course requirement. Teaching of Psychology, 47(1), 74-83. doi: 10.1177/0098628319888115
Journal - Research Article
Berber, E., McLean, S., Beanland, V., Read, G. J. M., & Salmon, P. M. (2020). Defining the attributes for specific playing positions in football match-play: A complex systems approach. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(11-12), 1248-1258. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2020.1768636
Journal - Research Article
Filtness, A. J., Beanland, V., Miller, K. A., Larue, G. S., & Hawkins, A. (2020). Sleep loss and change detection in simulated driving. Chronobiology International, 37(9-10), 1430-1440. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2020.1821043
Journal - Research Article
Shenfield, L., Beanland, V., & Apthorp, D. (2020). Temporal predictability does not impact attentional blink performance: Effects of fixed vs. random inter-trial intervals. PeerJ, 8, e8677. doi: 10.7717/peerj.8677
Journal - Research Article
Shenfield, L., Beanland, V., Filtness, A., & Apthorp, D. (2020). The impact of sleep loss on sustained and transient attention: An EEG study. PeerJ, 8, e8960. doi: 10.7717/peerj.8960
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., & Wynne, R. A. (2019). Effects of roadside memorials on drivers' risk perception and eye movements. Cognitive Research, 4, 32. doi: 10.1186/s41235-019-0184-1
Journal - Research Article
Gunson, H. P., Beanland, V., & Salmon, P. M. (2019). Road-related anger in motorcyclists versus car drivers. Transportation Research Part F, 62, 327-338. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2019.01.006
Journal - Research Article
Salmon, P. M., Read, G. J. M., Beanland, V., Thompson, J., Filtness, A. J., Hulme, A., … Johnston, I. (2019). Bad behaviour or societal failure? Perceptions of the factors contributing to drivers' engagement in the fatal five driving behaviours. Applied Ergonomics, 162-171. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2018.08.008
Journal - Research Article
Salmon, P. M., Read, G. J. M., Stevens, N., Walker, G. H., Beanland, V., McClure, R., … Stanton, N. A. (2019). Using the abstraction hierarchy to identify how the purpose and structure of road transport systems contributes to road trauma. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 3, 100067. doi: 10.1016/j.trip.2019.100067
Journal - Research Article
Wynne, R. A., Beanland, V., & Salmon, P. M. (2019). Systematic review of driving simulator validation studies. Safety Science, 117, 138-151. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2019.04.004
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Grant, E., Read, G. J. M., Stevens, N., Thomas, M., Lenné, M. G., … Salmon, P. M. (2018). Challenging conventional rural rail level crossing design: Evaluating three new systems thinking-based designs in a driving simulator. Safety Science, 110, 100-114. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2018.03.002
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Tan, C. H., & Christensen, B. K. (2018). The unexpected killer: Effects of stimulus threat and negative affectivity on inattentional blindness. Cognition & Emotion, 32(6), 1374-1381. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1394269
Journal - Research Article
Filtness, A. J., & Beanland, V. (2018). Sleep loss and change detection in driving scenes. Transportation Research Part F, 57, 10-22. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2017.10.003
Journal - Research Article
Pammer, K., Raineri, A., Beanland, V., Bell, J., & Borzycki, M. (2018). Expert drivers are better than non-expert drivers at rejecting unimportant information in static driving scenes. Transportation Research Part F, 59, 389-400. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2018.09.020
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., & Hansen, L. J. (2017). Do cyclists make better drivers? Associations between cycling experience and change detection in road scenes. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 106, 420-427. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2017.07.013
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Filtness, A. J., & Jeans, R. (2017). Change detection in urban and rural driving scenes: Effects of target type and safety relevance on change blindness. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 100, 111-122. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2017.01.011
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Salmon, P. M., Filtness, A. J., Lenné, M. G., & Stanton, N. A. (2017). To stop or not to stop: Contrasting compliant and non-compliant driver behaviour at rural rail level crossings. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 108, 209-219. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2017.09.004
Journal - Research Article
Cox, J. A., Beanland, V., & Filtness, A. J. (2017). Risk and safety perception on urban and rural roads: Effects of environmental features, driver age and risk sensitivity. Traffic Injury Prevention, 18(7), 703-710. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2017.1296956
Journal - Research Article
Stephens, A. N., Beanland, V., Candappa, N., Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E., Corben, B., & Lenné, M. G. (2017). A driving simulator evaluation of potential speed reductions using two innovative designs for signalised urban intersections. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 98, 25-36. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2016.09.022
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., & Chan, E. H. C. (2016). The relationship between sustained inattentional blindness and working memory capacity. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 78(3), 808-817. doi: 10.3758/s13414-015-1027-x
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Le, R. K., & Byrne, J. E. M. (2016). Object-scene relationships vary the magnitude of target prevalence effects in visual search. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 42(6), 766-775. doi: 10.1037/xhp0000183
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., Salmon, P. M., & Stanton, N. A. (2016). Variability in decision-making and critical cue use by different road users at rail level crossings. Ergonomics, 59(6), 754-766. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2015.1095356
Journal - Research Article
Horwood, S., & Beanland, V. (2016). Inattentional blindness in older adults: Effects of attentional set and to-be-ignored distractors. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 78(3), 818-828. doi: 10.3758/s13414-015-1057-4
Journal - Research Article
Mulvihill, C. M., Salmon, P. M., Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., Read, G. J. M., Walker, G. H., & Stanton, N. A. (2016). Using the decision ladder to understand road user decision making at actively controlled rail level crossings. Applied Ergonomics, 56, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.02.013
Journal - Research Article
Füssl, E., Oberlader, M., Beanland, V., Spyropoulou, I., Lenné, M. G., Joshi, S., … Carvalhais, J. (2015). Methodological development of a specific tool for assessing acceptability of assistive systems of powered two-wheeler-riders. IET Intelligent Transport Systems, 9(1), 12-21. doi: 10.1049/iet-its.2014.0026
Journal - Research Article
Young, K. L., Lenné, M. G., Beanland, V., Salmon, P. M., & Stanton, N. A. (2015). Where do novice and experienced drivers direct their attention on approach to urban rail level crossings? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 77, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2015.01.017
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., & Underwood, G. (2014). Safety in numbers: Target prevalence affects the detection of vehicles during simulated driving. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 76(3), 805-813. doi: 10.3758/s13414-013-0603-1
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Sellbom, M., & Johnson, A. K. (2014). Personality domains and traits that predict self-reported aberrant driving behaviours in a southeastern US university sample. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 72, 184-192. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2014.06.023
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Fitzharris, M., Young, K. L., & Lenné, M. G. (2013). Driver inattention and driver distraction in serious casualty crashes: Data from the Australian National Crash In-depth Study. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 54, 99-107. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2012.12.043
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., Candappa, N., & Corben, B. (2013). Gap acceptance at stop-controlled T-intersections in a simulated rural environment. Transportation Research Part F, 20, 80-89. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2013.05.006
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., Fuessl, E., Oberlader, M., Joshi, S., Bellet, T., … Underwood, G. (2013). Acceptability of rider assistive systems for powered two-wheelers. Transportation Research Part F, 19, 63-76. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2013.03.003
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., & Pammer, K. (2012). Minds on the blink: The relationship between inattentional blindness and attentional blink. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 74(2), 322-330. doi: 10.3758/s13414-011-0241-4
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Allen, R. A., & Pammer, K. (2011). Attending to music decreases inattentional blindness. Consciousness & Cognition, 20(4), 1282-1292. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2011.04.009
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., & Pammer, K. (2010). Looking without seeing or seeing without looking? Eye movements in sustained inattentional blindness. Vision Research, 50, 977-988. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2010.02.024
Journal - Research Article
Beanland, V., Goode, N., Salmon, P. M., & Lenné, M. G. (2013). Is there a case for driver training? A review of the efficacy of pre- and post-licence driver training. Safety Science, 51(1), 127-137. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2012.06.021
Journal - Research Other
Beanland, V., & Wynne, R. A. (2019). Does familiarity breed competence or contempt? Effects of driver experience, road type and familiarity on hazard perception. Proceedings of the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), (pp. 2006-2010). doi: 10.1177/1071181319631277
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper
Wynne, R. A., Beanland, V., Read, G. J. M., & Salmon, P. M. (2019). You look familiar: Learner driver hazard identification on familiar and unfamiliar roads. Proceedings of the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), (pp. 2001-2005). doi: 10.1177/1071181319631291
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper
Beanland, V., Grant, E., Read, G. J. M., Stevens, N., Thomas, M., Lenné, M. G., … Salmon, P. M. (2017). Applying Ecological Interface Design principles to the design of rural highway-rail grade crossing infrastructure. Proceedings of the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 61(1), (pp. 1887-1891). doi: 10.1177/1541931213601953
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper
Read, G. J. M., Salmon, P. M., Beanland, V., Lenné, M. G., & Stanton, N. A. (2017). Integrating human factors and systems thinking for transport design: Rail level crossing case study. Proceedings of the Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC). Retrieved from http://acrs.org.au/publications/acrs-conference-papers/
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper
Salmon, P. M., Read, G. J. M., Beanland, V., Thompson, J., Filtness, A., & Johnston, I. (2017). From on high? A systems analysis of the contributory factors that lead to the fatal five behaviours. Proceedings of the Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC). Retrieved from http://acrs.org.au/publications/acrs-conference-papers/
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper
Beanland, V., Pammer, K., Śledziowska, M., & Stone, A. (2015). Drivers' attitudes and knowledge regarding motorcycle lane filtering practices. Proceedings of the Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC). Retrieved from http://acrs.org.au/publications/acrs-conference-papers/
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper