Austin Svancara

Research Psychologist

Austin received his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Kansas. He has conducted traffic safety research in a broad range of topics including emerging technologies, driver behavior and perception, roadway design, and vulnerable road users (e.g., teen drivers, older drivers, drivers with developmental differences, etc.). In his academic and professional training, Austin has sought to use novel research tools and data analysis techniques to uncover new insights into complicated traffic safety research topics. He has employed a variety of research methods including focus groups, surveys, cognitive assessments, simulation/virtual reality, secondary data analysis of crash data, and longitudinal data collection approaches. Austin is skilled in several driving simulator systems of varying levels of fidelity and is expanding his expertise in virtual reality research to address pedestrian and cyclist safety issues. He has completed various certifications in applied statistics to advance his proficiency in MPlus, R, SAS, Stata, and SPSS statistical coding languages. Austin’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences.

Featured Publications

• Svancara, A.M., Kasha, A., Arnold, L., & Yang, C.Y.D. (2024). Does Older Adults’ Self-Regulation of Driving Improve Safety? An Examination of Objective and Subjective Driving Patterns in the AAA LongROAD Study.(Research Brief). Washington, D.C.: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
• Wheeler, K., Mielenz, T., Jia, H., Svancara, A.M., Arnold, L.S., DiGuiseppi, C., Hill, L.L., Eby, D.W., Molnar, L.J., Strogatz, D.S., Li, G. & Yang, C.Y.D. (2023). Physical Function and Frailty Are Associated with Self-Regulation of Driving among Older Adults: A LongROAD Study (Research Brief). Washington, D.C.: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
• Villavicencio, L., Svancara, A.M., Kelley-Baker, T., Tefft, B.C. (2022). Passenger Presence and Relative Risk of Teen Driver Death. Journal of Adolescent Health, 70(5), 757-762.
• Bednarz, H., Stavrinos, D., Svancara, A.M., Sherrod, G., McManus, B., Deshpande, H., Kana, R. (2022) Executive Function Brain Network Activation Predicts Driving Hazard Detection in ADHD. Brain Topography, 35, 251-267.
• Svancara, A.M., Kana, R., Bednarz, H., Sherrod, G., Visscher, K., McManus, B., & Stavrinos, D. (2021). Time-to-Collision Estimations in Young Drivers with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
• Svancara, A.M., Kelley-Baker, T., Horrey, WJ, Molnar, L., Eby, D., Mielenz, T., Hill, L., DiGuiseppi, C., Strogatz, D., & Guohua, L. (2020). The Relationship Between In-Vehicle Technologies and Self-Regulation Among Older Drivers. Geriatrics, 5(2), 23.
• Kim, W., Svancara, A.M., Kelley-Baker, T. (2020). Understanding the Impact of Road Design Characteristic on Teen Driver’s Fatality. Traffic Injury Prevention, 21(5), 313-318.
• Benson, A.J., Tefft, B.C., Svancara, A.M., & Horrey, W.J. (2018). Potential Reductions in Crashes, Injuries, and Deaths from Large-Scale Deployment of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. (Research Brief). Washington, D.C.: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.