The most recent session to be announced for NRSC 2025 comprises seven presentations focusing on Graduated Driver Licencing and novice drivers.
National Road Safety Conference (NRSC) is Road Safety GB’s flagship event. For the past two years, it has attracted almost 400 attendees and has sold out.
NRSC 2025 is being held at Wyboston Lakes Resort, located adjacent to the A1 between Cambridge & Bedford, on 4-5 November. It will be hosted by Road Safety GB Eastern Region, with delegate fees remaining virtually the same as last year. NRSC 2025 is sponsored by Jenoptik, Westcotec and National Highways.
- Click here to register as a delegate
More than 250 people have already registered to attend the event, and 20 organisations have signed up to exhibit alongside the conference.
- Click here for the exhibition rates and/or to book space at the exhibition
The seven presentations in the GDL/novice drivers session are:
Are we there yet with Graduated Driver Licensing in Britain? The politics of young driver risk
Dr Ian Greenwood, road safety campaigner, writer and speaker
Policy solutions without strong evidence have been implemented in the UK in preference to GDL. This politically driven optimism bias and the influential power of mobility and economic gain are significant contributory factors in explaining the refusal to adopt GDL in Britain. Until politicians engage with young driver risk as a public health problem and deploy political capital in unpopular policy solutions, the consequences of young driver collisions will continue to be disproportionately present in casualty data, and many lives devastated.
Exploring young people’s attitudes to Graduated Driver Licensing
Dr Elizabeth Box, Research Director, RAC Foundation
While international evidence demonstrates significant safety benefits, public and political acceptance remains a key challenge. Understanding how young people perceive GDL is crucial to shaping policies that are both effective and widely supported.
Using Road Safety Theatre in Education to bring the Graduated Driving Licence to life
Speaker: TBC, Safer Essex Roads Partnership
The Safer Essex Roads Partnership has been working with Collingwood Learning for many years delivering theatre in education to pre and young drivers. The two organisations are now working together on how theatre and interactive workshops can be used to explore the concept of Graduated Driving Licencing.
How to expect the unexpected: a driving simulator evaluation of hazard anticipation training for novice drivers
Dr Ruth Madigan, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
This presentation will present findings from a driving simulator study testing the effectiveness of the HMD training on drivers’ eye movement patterns and behavioural responses to potential hazards. This simulator-based evaluation will allow us to expose drivers to scenarios which may not be safe to test on the road. The results are expected to provide insights into the potential benefits of this type of training for young, novice drivers in the UK.
Equality in the driving test: a mixed methods exploration of gender differences in driving test performance
Dr Simon Christmas, Simon Christmas Ltd & Dr Shaun Helman, Chief Scientist, TRL
Men and women differ in their levels of performance in Great Britain practical and theory driving tests. Women reliably outperform men on the theory test, while the opposite is true in the practical test; this pattern of findings has been true for as long as data have been available. Such a clear difference in test performance on both the theory and practical elements does not appear to be compatible with the intended outcomes of the test being related to preparedness to drive safely. This project used mixed methods to try and understand the potential reasons for these relative differences in test performance.
Saving lives starts young: quantifying safe and responsible driving behaviour
Bani Anvari, Chair and Professor of Intelligent Mobility, UCL & John Beckford, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University and UCL
This talk will present insights into behavioural features that contribute to safe and responsible driving, based on a large-scale study involving over 300+ learner drivers aged 15–17 years in the UK. The participants completed a structured driving simulator programme involving both overland and city routes with intermittently occurring hazardous situations, as well as scenarios involving simulated visual impairment. The study aimed to investigate driver behaviour in conditions requiring anticipation, hazard perception and rapid decision- making, with a focus on quantifying elements that underpin safe and responsible driving.
Can Visual Feedback Improve Young Drivers’ Behaviour? A Simulator Study
Dr Maaike Esselaar, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Manchester Metropolitan University
Young drivers are at heightened risk of road traffic collisions due to their tendency for riskier driving behaviours, such as excessive acceleration and speed. In-vehicle feedback systems offer a potential intervention by providing real-time behavioural cues to promote safer driving. This presentation examines the effects of a visual feedback intervention on young drivers’ behaviour (speed, departures out of lane and crashes).
A packed agenda
The provisional agenda for NRSC 2025 comprises 18 sessions across the Main and Fringe programmes, along with four workshops – following the record-breaking the call for papers, which drew more than 90 submissions from practitioners and academics interested in speaking at the conference.
The Main conference agenda comprises 7 sessions covering Safe System/Vision Zero (4 presentations), enforcement and education (4), AI and road safety (3), GDL & novice drivers (7), speed management (5), e-scooters & micromobility (5) – plus a series of quick-fire presentations in the Speed Dating session (9).
The Fringe programme comprises 11 sessions covering reviewing fatal collisions (3), vehicle technology (2), topical topics (5), children & the school run, evaluation (7), work-related road risk (4), passive safety (3), quick wins in road safety (2), international presentations (3), plus two other sessions with no specific theme (7).
For more information about NRSC please contact either Sally Bartrum (delegate registration) or Nick Rawlings (agenda and exhibition etc) – both are available on 01379 650112.
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