Verity Truelove

Dr. Verity Truelove is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast, affiliated with the School of Law and Society and the Road Safety Research Collaboration. Her work focuses on understanding road rule compliance and behavior change across diverse driving contexts.

Dr. Truelove holds a BBSc (Psych), GDip BSc (Psych), and PhD. Her educational background in psychology provides the foundation for her research into driver behavior and road safety.

Her primary research interests include road safety, driver behavior, and road rule compliance, with specific focus on distracted driving (particularly phone use while driving), speeding, and impaired driving. Dr. Truelove investigates these behaviors across various environments (rural, regional, remote, and urban), examining how legal sanctions, psychological factors, and emerging technologies influence driver decisions. She is particularly interested in how social media and navigation technologies affect road rule compliance, and how enforcement strategies can be optimized for different contexts.

Analysis of Dr. Truelove's recent publications reveals a strong focus on understanding the psychological and situational factors that influence road rule violations. Her work spans quantitative and qualitative methodologies, examining everything from the impact of social media on road safety awareness to how drivers use technology to avoid enforcement. A notable trend is her investigation of how different environments (rural vs. urban) require tailored enforcement approaches, and how emerging technologies are changing the landscape of road safety.

Dr. Truelove has received significant recognition for her work:

• 2023: Australasian College of Road Safety Young Leaders Oration Award
• 2022: Commendation for the Vice-Chancellor and President's Award of Excellence in Research for Impact, Early Career

Dr. Truelove actively supervises PhD and honors students, with notable advisees including Michelle Nicolls (researching social norm messaging for distracted driving) and Laura Mills (examining digital deterrence and drug driving). Her research is supported by various funding sources that enable comprehensive studies on road safety issues, including projects examining the intersection of technology, enforcement, and driver behavior. She collaborates extensively with researchers across disciplines, particularly in psychology, law enforcement, and transportation safety.

Dr. Truelove is a key member of the Road Safety Research Collaboration at the University of the Sunshine Coast, working with interdisciplinary teams to address complex road safety challenges. Her research often involves partnerships with Queensland Police Service and other road safety organizations to ensure practical applications of her findings. She leads projects that examine real-world driving behaviors and develops evidence-based strategies for improving road safety outcomes across diverse populations and environments.