RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
February 27, 2003
FOCUS ON DRIVERS MOST AT DANGER ON THE ROADS
The three groups of motorists most at risk on UK roads - the young, the old and company car and van drivers - will be put under the spotlight by RoSPA next week.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents National Road Safety Congress, in association with Britax, will be held at the Hilton Hotel, Blackpool, from Monday to Wednesday (March 3-5).
Its programme on safer driving will look at ways to reduce risk, crashes and casualties. David Jamieson, Road Safety Minister, will open the conference by video at 2pm on Monday.
Kevin Clinton, RoSPA Head of Road Safety, said: “We will be giving a great deal of attention to the drivers who cause the most problems on our roads.
“The dangers faced by novice drivers are well known. We will hear about plans to follow the progress of thousands of new drivers so that the best training methods can be identified.
“We are now getting a growing number of older drivers on our roads, and we need to look at specific ways to keep them safe. As we grow older, our driving ability changes.
“People have to recognise when their driving is deteriorating, find out if there are ways they can improve again or plan for when they need to stop driving. RoSPA, for instance, helps older people through its experienced driver assessment scheme.
“Following studies by RoSPA, people who drive for work have now been recognised as having one of the most dangerous jobs. A speaker from the United Arab Emirates will tell us how an oil company is using ‘black box’ technology to monitor how employees are driving and help them to iron out bad habits.”
Other subjects under discussion will include: the dangers faced by bus drivers, how the motor industry is contributing to road safety, drink-drive initiatives and the success of speed cameras.
The full conference programme can be found at www.rospa.com/road
