Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Cognitive Psychology, The Claremont Graduate School, 1993
  • M.A., Human Factors Psychology, California State University, Northridge, 1988
  • B.A., Psychology, California State University, Northridge, 1984
Licenses & Certifications
  • Certified Human Factors Professional (CHFP)
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)
Professional Honors
  • Arthur H. Brayfield Award, Claremont Graduate School Faculty in Psychology (1993; Most Meritorious Dissertation)
Professional Affiliations
  • Transportation Research Board of the National Academies:
  • Past Chair (2016-2023), ACH40 - Standing Committee on Human Factors of Infrastructure Design and Operations
  • Member, AQL17 - Standing Committee on Safety, Risk Management, and Tort Liability
  • SAE International:
  • Member, Safety and Human Factors Steering Committee
  • Member, Driver-Vehicle Interface Committee
  • Member, Task Force on Guidelines for Voice Interaction in Driver Vehicle Interface
  • Vice-chair, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Committee
  • Past Chair, J3265 Task Force on Naming Methodology for Driving Automation Systems (https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3265_202211/)
  • Member, Driving Automation Systems Committee
  • Past Chair, J2830 Task Force on Comprehension Testing of In-Vehicle Symbols (http://standards.sae.org/j2830_201606/)
  • Human Factors and Ergonomics Society:
  • Reviewer, Human Factors Journal
  • Reviewer, Transportation Research Record

John Campbell, Ph.D., CHFP, PMP, is a principal scientist in Exponent's Human Factors practice with over 35 years of experience leading large-scale research programs to investigate numerous transportation topics, including roadway safety, driver behavior, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). He specializes in roadway design, human-machine interface design, analysis of human factors aspects of the contributing factors to crashes, and expert witness support for matters involving human factors analyses of these areas, including examining driver interactions with roadway elements and with advanced safety and convenience systems. 

Dr. Campbell has broad experience in driver behavior research, including driver sensation and perception, perception response time (PRT), nighttime driving and visibility, conspicuity, and distraction/inattention. He regularly leads human factors investigations into issues, incidents, and crashes related to driver behavior and driver performance issues, including speeding behaviors, distracted driving, and in-vehicle technology use, as well as evaluations of environmental factors, including roadway/infrastructure conditions, and other road users (i.e., pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, and other vehicles).

His research has been supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), among many other organizations.

Areas of Expertise

Support to the roadway design community

On behalf of NAS, Dr. Campbell has developed guidelines, tools, and training resources to support human factors aspects of roadway design, assessments of the human factors aspects of the contributing factors to crashes, and identification of countermeasures to improve roadway safety performance. His roadway design guidelines support practitioners addressing issues related to sight distance, speeding behaviors, work zone behaviors, curve driving, roundabouts, signalized intersections, and sign comprehension, among many other topics.

Dr. Campbell's recent research projects in this area include (1) leading the development of the 3rd Edition of the Human Factors Guidelines (HFG) for Road Systems, and Tools for Managing Speeding Behaviors and (2) contributing to the 2nd Edition of the Highway Safety Manual, the 8th Edition of A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (the Green Book), Guidelines for Reducing Adverse Behaviors in Work Zones, and Guidelines for Automated Traffic Enforcement.

Design and evaluation of advanced vehicle technologies

Dr. Campbell's research projects for NHTSA and the FHWA include efforts to address challenges for vehicles equipped with driver assistance and driving automation systems, including evaluations of alerts and warnings for advanced safety systems, human-machine interface (HMI) requirements, unique display and control configurations, telltales for vehicles with Level 4/5 (L4/L5) automated driving systems, intelligent speeding assistance systems, keyless starting systems, and driver monitoring systems. His experience includes developing user-centered, human factors design guidelines for in-vehicle head-up displays, navigation systems, telltales and icons, collision warning systems, connected vehicles, and HMIs for vehicles equipped with Level 2/3 (L2/L3) features.

Expert witness support and testimony experience

Dr. Campbell has been qualified as a human factors expert and offered testimony in both state and federal courts on topics including, but not limited to, vehicle operator behavior, driver impairment, distraction and inattention, visibility, effects of warnings and safety information on behavior, effects of roadway design elements (e.g., geometrics, traffic control devices, construction) on road user behavior, human machine interaction, and driver behavior research and testing.