SAFER Thursday lunch seminar: Cross-cultural differences in driver cognition
We are happy to welcome Dr Karl Miller is a Senior Research Fellow from the University of Nottingham School of Psychology. His research is broadly focused on the psychology of driving, with a particular interest in cross-cultural differences and driver cognition. His previous research has also investigated driver sleepiness, responses to autonomous vehicles, and pedestrian behaviour.
Road traffic crashes account for approximately 1.2 million deaths annually, with the vast majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Despite the global impact of this issue, psychological research on driving behaviour has largely focused on drivers from Western countries, where driving is relatively safe. To address this gap, our research examines cross-cultural differences in driving behaviour two countries with vastly different crash rates (the UK and Malaysia). Previous findings highlight differences in areas such as hazard perception and visual search strategies. Building on this work, our current project investigates how drivers from these cultures use and interpret communicative cues on the road, such as turn signals and flashing headlights. In this talk, I will present key findings from our research, discuss their implications for road safety initiatives, and explore how these insights could inform the development of culturally adaptive autonomous vehicle systems.
The seminar will centre on Road User Behaviour and will be hosted by Anna Sjörs Dahlman, our working group leader from VTI.
Dr Karl Miller will be presenting online.
Practical Information
SAFER Thursday lunch seminars are held both at the SAFER office, Lindholmspiren 3A (second floor), and online via Microsoft Teams.
- In-person attendance: Lunch will be provided at the SAFER office, Lindholmen Science Park, starting at 11:30 AM. The seminar will then be held in a hybrid format from 12:00 to 12:45 PM. Registration is required for lunch. Please register for lunch by 12:00 PM on the Tuesday before the seminar.
- Online attendance: No registration is needed. Simply join via the Microsoft Teams link sent to all SAFER partners ahead of the event. The seminar is held in a hybrid format from 12:00 to 12:45 PM.
Questions?: Get in touch with our office manager Sophia Guerra Ekesand: ekesand@chalmers.se
This event is open to all SAFER partners. Welcome!
