Distracted Driving: Time to Refocus

The Driving Change day conference is a free event co-hosted by The Open University and the Roads Policing Academic Network (RPAN) and will take place on the 10 May 2023.  The conference will be held at the Open University’s campus at Milton Keynes.  It is co-funded by the Road Safety Trust and the OU.

The conference – entitled Distracted Driving: Time to Refocus - will bring together researchers, practitioners, policy makers and NGOs with a shared interest in tackling the issues surrounding distracted driving. Distractions take many forms, including phone use and infotainment systems, and the emergence of semi-autonomous vehicles presents new challenges and opportunities in this area.

The main aim of the day is to identify how evidence can inform practice through education, enforcement and policy. Presentations will discuss new research and its applications; issues relating to the policing of driver distraction; the law and prosecution options for offenders; and attempts to move towards vision zero via evidence-based practice.

There is an excellent line up of speakers from academia, the police and government-run organisations, who have a shared interest in improving road safety for everyone.

The speakers include:

• Chief Constable Jo Shiner - Sussex Police
• Dr Melina Kunar - Warwick University
• PC Mark Hodson - West Midlands Police
• Prof Nicola Christie – UCL
• Dr Heather Ward – UCL
• Mark Cartwright - National Highways
• Dr Ashley Pressley - Transport Research Lab
• Dr Adam Snow - Liverpool John Moores University
• Dr Helen Wells - Keele Universtiy
• Dr Leanne Savigar-Shaw - Staffordshire University
• Prof Gemma Briggs - The Open University

We very much hope you can join us at this event, and invite you to reserve your free tickets as soon as possible, via Eventbrite. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

If you have any questions regarding the conference, please feel free to email Gemma.