Tom van der Sande focusses on the development of control systems for cooperative and automated vehicles and the overall safety concept related to the design of an automated vehicle. Besides that, he has kept the research into the vertical dynamics of vehicles open through collaboration with industrial partners. 

In his research he strives to establish a strong coupling between a thorough theoretical basis and a clear practical implementation. Within automotive research there is no substitute for testing in real environments, since there is always a human in the loop and driving circumstances are ever changing.