Accessible Academics :
Dr Gemma Briggs
I am an applied cognitive psychologist with expertise in dual tasking while driving . I first became interested in this topic as an undergraduate when I heard about research suggesting that hands-free phone use was a significant road safety issue . That research found that phone-using drivers were still at an increased risk of crashing for around five minutes after their call had ended . This fascinated me and made me want to find out why this was the case , and how our brains really cope with multi-tasking . My PhD research focused on this , and I ’ ve continued to research and publish on the topic of driver distraction ever sinse .
I ’ m particularly interested in how drivers allocate their attention when they try to complete multiple tasks . I investigate this using video-based - and simulator-based - studies where I measure driver reaction times for hazards , their eye movements , and their hazard detection ability . This research has helped me explain specifically why phone use is so cognitively demanding on drivers , rather than it simply just increasing the amount of work their brains need to do .
As well as teaching on this topic , at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels , I ’ m interested in producing accessible , evidence-based education for the general public .
Gemma says …
“ The whole reason I carry out research is to make a positive contribution to policy and practice . I think it ’ s really important to share research findings as a means to changing individual opinion and practice as well as , hopefully informing policy more widely .”
Contact Gemma :
Email : Expertise : gemma . briggs @ open . ac . uk
• Mobile phone use
• Driver attention and perception
• Driver education
• Cognitive Psychology
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