EXPERT WITNESS

Professor Stedmon has worked on a number of cases focussing on different aspects of driver behaviour, forensic psychology and human factors.  Examples include:

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Driver expectations, looming and perception response time – a driver was charged with death by dangerous driving for failing to to stop behind a stationary car positioned in the outside lane of a dual carriageway, causing the death of a passenger.  Professor Stedmon provided key evidence and led negotiations of a joint report for the court that proved the accident was ‘unavoidable and inevitable’.  The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges against the defendant.

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Driver distraction and inaction – a driver was charged with murdering their passenger by causing an accident.  The case focused on an apparent lack of response from the driver, in comparison to a police reconstruction, within expected timescales and potential distraction effects.  Professor Stedmon provided evidence for the defence and argued that before a conscious act to cause an accident might have happened, other explanations need to be dismissed first. Although no evidence was available to suggest who caused the accident, the defendant was ultimately found guilty of murder.

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Texting while driving and driver inattention – a driver who was allegedly texting while driving and was therefore distracted, resulting in them running over and killing a small child.  Professor Stedmon prepared and presented evidence for the prosecution citing the vast range of evidence highlighting the impact of texting on driver vigilance and performance.  Based on a technical issue, the defendant was found not guilty of death by dangerous driving but pleaded guilty to death by careless driving.

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Change blindness – a driver was charged with death by dangerous driving when they failed to see a motorcyclist that they later collided with.  Professor Stedmon provided an initial review of the possibility that more than one motorcyclist caused the driver to misinterpret what they had seen due to the psychology of change blindness.

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Driver expectations – in another case, CPS were looking to bring a charge of death by dangerous driving against someone who swerved and hit two pedestrians.  Professor Stedmon produced a convincing report regarding driver expectations arguing that the accident could not have been avoided. As a result, charges were not brought against the driver. 


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Human machine interaction – a driver faced a charge of death by dangerous driving when they inadvertently ran over a pedestrian who was drunk and had fallen behind their reversing vehicle.  Professor Stedmon successfully provided evidence for the defence highlighting issues of human-machine interaction as a reason for why they driver did not realise they had selected reverse gear.  The defendant was ultimately found not guilty of the charge of death by dangerous driving but admitted death by careless driving. 

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Unintended acceleration – in a case where a driver had lost control of their vehicle causing the death of a pedestrian and serious injury of another, Professor Stedmon acted for the defence.  He outlined mitigating factors for the typical issues of cognitive conflict associated with an out of control vehicle. This resulted in a reduced sentence.

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Eye-witness and ear-witness testimony – Professor Stedmon provided evidence for the prosecution of a driver charged with causing the death of a pedestrian.  Evidence focussed on what witnesses saw and heard.  Professor Stedmon produced his own report and reviewed another expert witness acting for the defence.  The defendant was found guilty of death by careless driving.