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Dr Briggs’ research centred on specific explanations for why phone use by drivers is dangerous.<\/p><\/div>\n
The senior lecturer and head of Discipline in the School of the School of Psychology & Counselling has won an O\u00b2RB Excellence in Impact Award 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These awards, supported by the University of Oxford\u2019s ESRC<\/a> Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), recognise and reward social scientists whose research has achieved excellent economic and social impact.<\/p>\n Dr Briggs\u2019 vital research places her in a group of winners who have collaborated with policymakers, industry partners, academics and NGOs around the globe to impact a wide range of complex and urgent societal challenges; from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on rates of parenting stress and child abuse, to European cities\u2019 policies and practices towards irregular migrants.<\/p>\n Specifically, Dr Gemma Briggs\u2019<\/a> collaborative applied research into the effects of distracted driving has significantly influenced national policy, police campaigns, and public attitudes towards the dangers of phone use at the wheel \u2013 a danger that contributes to an average of five deaths per day on UK roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n In March 2020 her research contributed to a road safety campaign used by 43 police forces<\/a> in the UK and partner institutions.<\/p>\n Her award notes she has also provided evidence to the Transport Select Committee, leading to their recommendation to change legislation, worked closely with the National Police Chief\u2019s Council to provide evidence-based education for their national enforcement campaign and moreover, helped to shift public attitudes on the risks of distracted driving through extensive media coverage of her work.<\/p>\n Her findings that phone conversations draw on the same critical cognitive resources that a Further details of this work can be found on the Driving Change project website<\/a> as well as Gemma\u2019s recent talk<\/a> at the launch of the Open Psychology Research Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reacting to her award, Dr Briggs said:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m delighted to have been given this award, which recognises the work that I\u2019ve carried out alongside several colleagues and partner organisations. It\u2019s great that our research has achieved impact in this way, and that there is an appetite in both the public and private sector to engage with this work in the hope of achieving evidence-based practice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<\/em>\n \u201cIt\u2019s equally fantastic that public awareness of the dangers of handsfree phone use while driving is increasing, and the opportunity to help the police and road safety charities to share research in this area has been valuable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nInfluencing national policy, campaigns and attitudes<\/h2>\n
driver needs for visual perception showed that phone-using drivers have severely reduced hazard detection abilities and situation awareness, significantly increasing the risk of
collisions .<\/p>\n\n