Project EDWARD’s latest road safety webinar takes place next week, dedicated to the urgent need for greater protection of young people in cars.
The event, which gets underway at 2pm on 8 July, will be co-chaired by Philip Seccombe (Warwickshire police and crime commissioner) and Joy Allen (Durham police and crime commissioner), both serving as APCC roads policing leads.
Assisted by a line-up of experts including Dr Ian Greenwood, Dr Rob Török, Terry Cook and Rebecca Morris, Philip and Joy will explore innovative solutions to enhance the safety of young drivers and their passengers.
They will also introduce contributions from CC Jo Shiner, Dan Quin (NFCC Road Safety), Dr Sarah Jones (Public Health Wales), Dr Shaun Helman (TRL), Dr Elizabeth Box (RAC Foundation), Edmund King OBE (AA), Ruth Purdie OBE (The Road Safety Trust), and Professor Lindel Bates (Griffith University, Australia).
The panel will include representatives from Young Drivers of Canada – an organisation with more than 50 years of experience and more than 1.3 million graduates. Young Drivers of Canada’s robust driver education programmes have contributed to a 42% reduction in crashes among drivers aged 20 to 24 years, offering valuable lessons for the UK as it seeks to improve its own road safety outcomes.
Project EDWARD’s James Luckhurst will be producing the webinar. He said: “We will attempt to find out how Young Drivers of Canada’s focus on defensive driving and real-world hazard recognition differs from traditional test-prep approaches, and what the long-term benefits have been.
“We will also explore the role insurance incentives play in encouraging young people to complete comprehensive driver education in Canada, and how might similar partnerships benefit young drivers in the UK.”
Project EDWARD welcomes the participation of policy makers, road safety professionals, driving instructors, law enforcement specialists and anyone committed to improving road safety for young people – describing the event as a unique opportunity to learn from international best practice.
I was glad to see the key phrase “… defensive driving..” mentioned for once, in an article about road safety. If only everyone put it into practice. Hopefully, those mebntioned above will take it on board.
Hugh Jones, South Wirral
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