Road Safety GB has unveiled plans for a new one-day conference for road safety professionals, to be held in autumn 2018 and focusing on older road users.
The inaugural Older Road User Conference will be held on Wednesday 19 September 2018 at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London.
The conference is being organised by Road Safety GB in partnership with New View Consultants and the RAC Foundation. It is intended for road safety & public health practitioners, police & fire & rescue officers, academics, central government employees and highways engineers.
While the agenda is very much in its infancy, topics under consideration include:
- Designing a road system for older people
- Vehicle design and technology for older drivers
- Medical issues affecting older road users – cognitive decline, vision, dexterity, reactions etc
- Education, training and publicity initiatives targeting older road users
The opening keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr Charles Musselwhite, associate professor at the Centre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University. Dr Musselwhite is a world-renowned authority in road user safety and ageing who makes frequent media appearances and is a regular contributor to national and international conferences.
The conference is the brainchild of Ian Edwards from New View Consultants, who said: “The Older Road User Conference will set out to identify the safety issues relating to older road users, and to showcase current interventions and initiatives.
“We also aim to identify gaps in current provision and outline the challenges and actions for road safety professionals, government and other stakeholders.
“Our intention is that this will become an annual conference focusing on the specific needs of this increasingly significant road user group.”
The Older Road User Conference will be formally launched in January 2018 when delegate registration will open.
In the meantime, to express an interest in attending contact Sally Bartrum, or to express an interest in speaking at the conference contact Nick Rawlings (both are available on 01379 650112).
Categories: Older drivers, Events.
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