Jason Jupe, P.E.
Director, Transportation Practice
Get to know the expert
Expert QuestionS & AnswerS
You’ve both trained others in your field and testified as an expert witness — what’s the biggest challenge in communicating complex transportation findings to a non-technical audience like a jury?
The biggest challenge is translating technical certainty into intuitive understanding. Jurors think like drivers, not engineers. The key is explaining complex findings in a way that feels real and relatable without losing accuracy. If it does not make sense to them as a lived experience, the conclusion will not land.
What’s the most interesting case you’ve worked on that you can talk about without revealing client details?
One of the most interesting aspects of my work is the variety of cases. I investigate everything from commercial truck collisions and passenger vehicle crashes to pedestrian events, visibility issues, and human factors questions. What makes it engaging is that each case combines engineering, driver behavior, and roadway environment, so the challenge is always connecting those pieces into a clear, defensible explanation of what actually happened and why.
What’s one piece of advice you find yourself giving clients over and over again?
Clarity beats complexity. A clear, well-supported explanation is always more effective than an overly technical one. If it cannot be explained simply, it will be hard to defend.
Background
Mr. Jason Jupe holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Human Factors in Automotive Design and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering with an emphasis on Human Factors Engineering. Mr. Jupe is a licensed professional engineer and an accredited traffic accident reconstructionist by the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstructionist (ACTAR).
Mr. Jupe’s professional practice focus is in the areas of accident reconstruction, human factors, transportation safety, ergonomics, premises liability, lighting, and mechanical engineering. In addition, he has extensive education, training, and experience in vehicular accident reconstruction, vehicle design and performance, vision and perception, cognitive engineering, and failure analysis.
He has performed accident reconstruction and engineering analyses on hundreds of cases involving human-factors-related issues, commercial tractor/trailers, passenger vehicles, pedestrian accidents, bicycle and motorcycle collisions, and rollovers and has testified as an expert witness at deposition, mediation, and trial settings.
Education and Certifications
- Industrial Engineering, Human Factors, M.S.: Texas Tech University
- Mechanical Engineering, B.S.: Kettering University
- Licensed Professional Engineer: Texas and Louisiana
- Accredited Accident Reconstructionist: Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstructionists (Certification #1673)
- Crash Data Retrieval Certified Analyst
- Crash Data Retrieval Technician
Publications
- Hickman, J.S.. Shah, R., Soccolich, S. Hammond, R., and Jupe, J. (2024). Cell phone conversations while driving a heavy vehicle: risk as a function of event type. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Driver Distraction and Inattention, pp. 74-77.
- Leonard, M., Grimes, W., Garcia, M., and Jupe, J. (2024). “Combination Vehicle Sway-Mode Stability Test Data Compared to Simulations.” 2024 HVE Forum. Paper No. HVE-WP-2024-3.
- Oliver, M. Weaver, B. W., DeLucia, P. R., Qian, H., Jupe, J., & Yang. R. (2022). “Do Drivers Respond to Lead Vehicles Gradually or Suddenly?” Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 66, pp. 933-937.
- Weaver, B. W., DeLucia, P. R., and Jupe, J. (2021). “Factors that affect drivers’ perception of closing and an immediate hazard. Human Factors.” Human Factors, Volume 65, Issue 1.
- Weaver, B. W., DeLucia, P. R., and Jupe, J. (2019). “Effects of cell phone conversation and roadway complexity on the perception of an immediate hazard while driving” Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), pp. 2098.
- Weaver, B. W., DeLucia, P. R., and Jupe, J. (2019). “Effects of cell phone conversation on the first driver response to a stopped lead vehicle.” Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), pp. 2031 – 2034.
- Jupe, J. “Excessive Speed vs. Right of Way, drivers’ perceptual limitations to judge oncoming traffic.” Houston Human Factors & Ergonomics Society 2016 Symposium.
- Levulis, S. J., DeLucia, P. R., and Jupe, J. (2015). “Effects of oncoming vehicle size on overtaking judgments.” Accident Analysis & Prevention, 82, 163-170.
- Przybyla J., Jupe J., Rush, T., and Keller, R. “Glass Debris Field Longevity for Rollover Accident Reconstruction.” P SAE Technical Paper 2015–01–1427, 2015.
- Przybyla J., Taylor J., Jupe J., and Zhou X. “Estimating Risk Effects of Driving Distraction: A Dynamic Errorable Car-Following Model.” Transportation Research Part C; Volume 50, January 2015, Pages 117-129.
- Levulis, S. J., DeLucia, P. R., and Jupe, J. D. (2014). “The effects of oncoming vehicle size on overtaking judgments.” Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 58, 2234.
- Jupe, J., Sax, C., and Gonzalez, D. “The right-turning motorist: An analysis of acceleration profiles and gap acceptance.” 2014 Southwest Regional Human Factors & Ergonomics Society Symposium. Houston, 2014. (awarded best professional presentation).
- Przybyla J., Taylor J., Jupe J., and Zhou X. “Simplified Data-Driving, Errorable Car-Following Model to Predict the Safety Effects of Distracted Driving.” 15th IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference (ITSC), 2012. (awarded best conference paper).
- “Commercial Vehicle Dynamics for Collision Reconstruction” Collision Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 2, Fall 2009.
- “Vehicular and Driver Factors in Commercial Vehicle Safety” Proceedings of the First International Road Safety Conference, Republic of South Africa Traffic Management Corporation, 2009.
- “Commercial Vehicle Dynamics for Collision Reconstruction” Proceedings of the Republic of South Africa Road Traffic Management Agency, 2nd Annual Crash Conference, 2008.
- “The Development of a Motor Vehicle Data Acquisition System to Measure Vehicle Accelerations.” Kettering University Undergraduate Thesis, 2000.