Sjaanie Koppel

Assoc Professor

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

Mindfulness and road safety; Future mobility modes (e.g., automated vehicles); Child road users; Older Road Users; Fitness to Drive; Workplace Road Safety

20022025

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

Dr Sjaan Koppel holds a PhD in Psychophysiology and is an Associate Professor at the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC).

Within this role, Sjaan leads the Behavioural Science team and is passionate about improving the safe mobility of vulnerable road users including: older road users, drivers with medical conditions and/or functional impairments, and child road users.

In a 2021 review - that analysed 50 years (and over 25,000 pieces) of road safety literature, Sjaan was recognised as the world's leading author on research related to “Old, child & vulnerable road users, driver clinical/mental condition, fatigue & sleepiness”. 

Within her research, Sjaan uses many behavioural safety techniques including: questionnaires, neuropsychological assessments, interactive driving simulations, on-road driving assessments and naturalistic driving study [NDS] methodologies.

Sjaan is on the Board of Directors for the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM), is an elected member of the Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS), is an Associate Editor for the Traffic Injury Prevention (TIP) journal, is on the Scientific Program Committee for the TÜV SÜD Conference ‘Protection of Children in Cars' and is an invited member of Safe Kids Worldwide's 'Children in Automated Vehicles' Consortium.

Sjaan is also MUARC’s academic lead for the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP). The NRSPP’s mission is to empower Australian organisations through learning, sharing, and collaborating to develop evidence-based best practices to minimise workplace road trauma. Through its core government funding, NRSPP’s resources are made available to individuals and organisations:

https://www.nrspp.org.au/

Supervision interests

Pregnancy and motor vehicle travel

Mindfulness and road safety

Willingness to use emerging and future mobility modes

Workplace road safety

Child road users

Older road users

Fitness-to-drive

 

University Service

Associate Director, Behavioural Science (MUARC) 

Baseline Road Safety Research Program Manager (MUARC)

Pre-Candidate Graduate Research Coordinator (MUARC)

Career Development Committee (MUARC)

Mental Health First Aid Officer (MUARC)

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 15 - Life on Land
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

External positions

Chair of the Scientific Committee, Australasian Road Safety Conference

Nov 2023Oct 2024

President-Elect, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine

Oct 2023 → …

Member of the Executive Council , Australasian College of Road Safety Incorporated (ACRS)

May 2021Apr 2025

Member of the Review College, Fonds Voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaandeen (Research Foundation-Flanders)

Jan 2021 → …

Member of the Scientific Program Committee, TÜV SÜD Conference Protection of Children in Cars

Aug 2017 → …

Associate Editor, Traffic Injury Prevention

May 2016 → …

Research area keywords

  • Road Safety
  • Mindfulness
  • Vulnerable Road Users
  • Child Road Users
  • Older Road Users
  • Workplace Road Safety

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or