Practical interventions a focus of London-based young driver event

YDF2017-Interventions

Practical road safety interventions, in particular the use of live performances and virtual reality technology, will come under the spotlight at a young driver conference being held in the Capital next month.

Now in its fourth year, Young Driver Focus 2017 takes place on Wednesday 26 April at the prestigious Royal Automobile Club in London’s Pall Mall. More than three quarters of the available delegate places have now been taken.

The agenda, now almost complete, will comprise 13 presentations from 15 speakers, including the psychologist Lucía Magis-Weinberg from University College London.

The afternoon session, themed ‘practical Interventions’, comprises five presentations including Mike Ketteringham, CEO of ingenie, who will outline the work of ingenie’s Driver Behaviour Unit, a data-led team that works with drivers to improve their performance.

This will be followed by two presentations looking at the use of live performances to influence young driver behaviour.

YDF 2017 banner

First, Mark Taylor and Lesley Allen, Surrey and Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service respectively, will discuss a 12-month independent evaluation of Safe Drive Stay Alive (SDSA) performances in both areas.

Their joint presentation will summarise the outcomes from the evaluation and detail the steps being taken to further improve the SDSA programme and address the issues raised.

Next, Iain Watson, senior road safety officer with Suffolk County Council, will present ‘Braking Point’- a theatre In education production focusing on ‘normalising good behaviour’.

Braking Point comprises a series of presentations delivered to students to provide information that is relevant to all, and not simply focusing on poor in-car behaviour by some. The project is currently being evaluated and any available results will be shared in the presentation.

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is gaining in popularity among the road safety community, but relatively little is currently known about the effects and effectiveness of VR when used as a tool intended to modify behaviour.

Steve Ferris from Road Safety Analysis will outline the results from a study currently being carried out on behalf of Safer Roads Humber, to research the psychological and physiological effects that take place when viewing differing types of content through 360 VR headsets, and how this can affect behavioural indicators.

In the final presentation in this session, Simon Brown from Hertfordshire County Council and Antonia Petrie from West Midlands Fire Service will look at the next steps for VR in road safety.

Their joint presentation will explore different ways of using VR to reach targeted audiences – such as social media channel support. They will also examine how 360 film compares to regular film and the pros/cons of each, delving a little into some of the technical considerations when shooting VR.

Click here to book your place at the event.


09 March 2017