Swinburne researcher funded to help reduce the impact of drug-affected driving

Dr Amie Hayley’s work has shown that amphetamine-intoxicated drivers are more likely to die in road trauma than sober drivers.
In summary
- Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Dr Amie Hayley, has been awarded a four-year Al and Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship
- Dr Hayley will investigate how long-term use of methamphetamines affects driving to optimise the development of technologies designed to monitor driver state in real time
Senior Research Fellow at Swinburne's Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Dr Amie Hayley, has been awarded a four-year Al and Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship to further her research into how chronic methamphetamine use affects driving skills and performance.
Dr Hayley will investigate how long-term use of methamphetamines affects driving to optimise the development of technologies designed to detect and monitor driver state in real time.
This work will advance understanding of how ocular-based technologies can be used to detect and monitor driver impairment during different phases of methamphetamine use. It will also directly contribute to the co-development of novel driver-state monitoring systems to detect methamphetamine-affected drivers in real time.
Dr Hayley’s work examines the neural, biological and clinical factors that underlie harm associated with psychoactive substance usage and aims to identify mechanisms by which these changes translate to dangerous human behaviour.
Through her experimental work at Swinburne’s Drugs and Driving Research Unit, Dr Hayley has developed a framework to support the use of ocular metrics to index driving impairment when someone is acutely intoxicated by methamphetamine.
“Driving a car is a complex task that requires a driver to be attentive, competent and capable,” Dr Hayley says.
“Despite national initiatives in Australia to reduce the impact of drug-impaired driving – such as roadside drug testing – amphetamine is now the most commonly detected illicit drug among drivers who are injured or killed due to road trauma.”
“This fellowship will allow me to develop the capabilities of vehicle-based and wearable eye-monitoring technologies to help reduce the burden of drug-affected driving.”
Dr Hayley has quantified the scope and impact of dangerous driving practices associated with methamphetamine use and identified eye-tracking technology as a novel means to monitor and index driver impairment when someone is acutely impaired by methamphetamine. She hopes to further develop impairment standards for other common drugs, thereby helping to reduce the global impact of road trauma due to psychoactive substance usage.
Dr Hayley was also awarded the 2020 Vice-Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award (Early Career).
Al and Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship
This prestigious award is named in honour of the late Al Rosenstrauss OAM and his wife, Val, for their contribution to the work of The Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation over more than 28 years. The fellowship is targeted at rising stars who are between three and 10 years post-doctoral and who are building credentials for a long and successful career in research. Fellowship recipients receive $100,000 per year for four years.
-
Media Enquiries
Related articles
-
- Health
New report reveals shocking state of prisoner health. Here’s what needs to be done
A new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on the health of people in Australian prisons makes for sobering reading. It reveals that compared to the general population, people in prison have higher rates of mental health conditions, chronic disease, communicable disease, and acquired brain injury. This is despite the fact the prison population is relatively young.
Wednesday 15 November 2023 -
- Science
- Health
What is ‘fried rice syndrome’? A microbiologist explains this type of food poisoning – and how to avoid it
A condition dubbed “fried rice syndrome” has caused some panic online in recent days, after the case of a 20-year-old who died in 2008 was resurfaced on TikTok. “Fried rice syndrome” refers to food poisoning from a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, which becomes a risk when cooked food is left at room temperature for too long.
Monday 30 October 2023 -
- Health
‘We are worn out and no one cares’: why ambulance staff in UK and Australia are ready to quit the profession
The COVID-19 pandemic may be over, but its scars remain for those on the frontline of the health sector – not least in the ambulance services. And our research conducted separately in the UK and Australia shows things are getting worse across the globe.
Saturday 21 October 2023 -
- Technology
- Health
- Science
The new non-invasive brain scan techniques giving seizure sufferers a new lease on life
Swinburne University of Technology’s cutting-edge non-invasive investigations for epilepsy are giving seizure sufferers like Stephenie Evans a second chance at a happy and healthy life.
Read more (The new non-invasive brain scan techniques giving seizure sufferers a new lease on life )Monday 16 October 2023 -
- Science
- Health
Insomnia and mental disorders are linked. But exactly how is still a mystery
The 2004 movie The Machinist gives us a striking depiction, albeit a fictional one, of the psychological effects of chronic insomnia. When people don’t have enough sleep, their memory and concentration are impaired in the short term. They are also less able to regulate their emotions.
Friday 20 October 2023