Young Driver Focus 2024

CREATING SAFER YOUNG DRIVERS CREATING SAFER YOUNG DRIVERS

WELCOME FROM OUR HEADLINE SPONSOR

Gill Starkie Trustee GEM Motoring Assist

On behalf of GEM Motoring Assist, may I extend our welcome to you at this year’s Young Driver Focus. Once again, we are delighted to sponsor this event. As a road safety and breakdown organisation, we have a proud history of working with partners to support innovative schemes and initiatives that can improve safety for young drivers.

The GEM Road Safety Charity was established in 1985 to promote road safety and reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads. This remains at the heart of everything we do, and our work supporting worthwhile projects and initiatives across the UK serves this purpose.

In our most recent funding round, we received several applications for

Organised by

Supported by

support. As a result, we will provide Eye Health UK with resources to promote its commitment to promoting good vision for safe driving. We will also provide funding for the National Young Rider Forum, which conducted research and found a severe lack of knowledge about the rules and regulations governing the road.

Don’t miss the chance to visit the GEM stand, where we invite you to record a short video about your personal commitment to road safety and your role in the Safe System. It’s part of our support for Project EDWARD, and it’ll be spread far and wide on our various social media channels.

I wish you a successful and enjoyable day.

James

Loveday

NOVICE DRIVERS AND SAFE DISTANCES

Jacqueline Upton

Senior Advisor: Social Research and Behaviour Change National Highways

Nicola Wass CEO So-Mo

Lorna Smith Team Leader - Safer Road Users Kent County Council

Dr. Simon Christmas Director

Simon Christmas Ltd

REDEFINING ROAD SAFETY: THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE YOUNG DRIVER AND PASSENGER INTERVENTION ACHIEVING GREATER AND MORE VARIED ON-ROAD PRACTICE WHEN LEARNING TO DRIVE. WHAT WORKS?

Keanan Lloyd-Adams TikToker

James Evans Founder FirstCar

GoDRIVE – REINVENTING THE WHEEL!

DCI Mike Bettington

Roads Policing Department

Thames Valley Police

Dr. Elizabeth Box CEO

ECM Research Solutions

Cheryl Evans Senior Road Safety Officer West Berkshire Council

REROUTING THE APPEAL OF FEAR IN YOUNG DRIVER EDUCATION

Ian Edwards Managing Director

New View Consultants

Olly Tayler QPM Co-Founder The Honest Truth

Dan Quin

Chief Fire Officer

Surrey Fire & Rescue Service

Chris Boston Road Safety Lead

Devon & Somerset Fire Rescue Service

DRIVING INSTRUCTORS - AN UNDERVALUED TOUCH POINT WITH YOUNG DRIVERS? NOT ANYMORE A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO YOUNG DRIVER SAFETY EDUCATION CLOSING REMARKS AND CONFERENCE CLOSES

Annabelle Priest Road Safety Officer

Devon & Somerset Fire Rescue Service

A note of thanks from the organisers

FirstCar and Road Safety GB are very grateful to our headline sponsor GEM Motoring Assist for its continued support and to Westcotec for sponsoring our pre-drinks reception last night as well as being our silver sponsor today. Also, for the continued support from the RAC Foundation in helping organise and hosting us in such a magnificent venue.

James Evans – today's host

Founder FirstCar

Welcome to Young Driver Focus. Since our first event a decade ago, we’ve welcomed hundreds of road safety professionals and campaigners, to network and increase their knowledge around this important area of road safety.

We’re excited to host such a wide variety of speakers, drawn from many different sectors and specialisms. By hearing their research and learning from their experiences, we are better equipped to make journeys safer for young drivers and their passengers.

WELCOME ADDRESSES

Gill Starkie Trustee GEM Road Safety Charity

Gill has worked within road safety for many years and is now a trustee at the GEM Road Safety Charity. They champion road safety initiatives and are committed to improving safety on our roads and for our young drivers and their passengers.

We’re grateful for the support of our headline sponsor GEM Motoring Assist, the road safety and breakdown organisation, with a long history of making our roads safer. Those who attended last night’s drinks reception will, I’m sure, join me in thanking Westcotec for their kind hospitality, and continued support as Silver sponsor. Thank you for everything you to do to help young drivers enjoy safer journeys. I look forward to meeting you all during what promises to be a busy and enlightening day!

Dr. Elizabeth Box

CEO ECM Research Solutions

Elizabeth is an accomplished transport researcher and commissioner with over two decades of experience. She is an advisor to several road safety industry and government project boards and has an excellent track record in influencing and contributing to road safety policy outcomes at the national level.

What is the ICE Hub?

The Immersive Community Education (ICE) Hub is a platform for sharing virtual reality experiences and 360 film for the benefit of road and community safety. Founded by FirstCar and Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service following their production of the very first road safety VR film in 2015, the ICE Hub has now grown to contain almost two dozen films with a combined total production value of over £750,000.

Virtual reality lends itself perfectly to many safety awareness and education messages, by immersing viewers in a lifelike environment and presenting hazards,

risks and insight that would be too costly, impractical or dangerous to engineer in a live setting. Not only is VR a great media to get messages across, because the technology is relatively new, people are keen to engage with it and enjoy participating using either a headset or handheld device.

ICE Hub members have perpetual access to the whole library of film as it grows. To obtain membership you can either work with us to produce a VR film and contribute it to the Hub or make a financial contribution towards the cost of an existing VR production.

Over 50 members, including:

Mature driver education

Working alongside the Older Driver Forum, this collaboratively funded film was designed to provide members with an intervention for mature drivers. Focusing on issues such as reduced physical mobility, impaired vision, hazard perception and the ability to judge speed, virtual reality provided the perfect medium to prompt discussion. Independent evaluation has since shown statistically significant results against all the objectives, proving that VR shouldn’t just be considered a medium for the young.

Cycling UK Too Close for Comfort

This short film was produced for cyclists and drivers, to demonstrate both unsafe and safe overtaking manoeuvres. Shot from a combination of cyclist and driver perspectives, we can feel the vulnerability of the cyclist and understand from the in-car view, what a safe overtake looks like. This film carries the theme of sharing the road and is narrated with actionable tips by both the driver and cyclist. It is non-preachy and to the point.

FirstCar Awards 2019Partnership Scheme Winner

Keynote speaker

Guy Opperman MP

Minister for Roads and Local Transport, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Department for Transport

Biography

Guy Opperman was appointed

Minister for Roads and Local Transport at the Department for Transport in November 2023. He was previously Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions between November 2022 and October

2023, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the same department for five years previously. He served as a Government Whip from May 2015 to June 2017. He was elected Conservative MP for Hexham in 2010.

10.05 -10.30

An update on the young driver training and testing industry

Loveday Ryder

CEO DVSA

Biography

Loveday Ryder became the Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) in January 2021. She was previously in the Ministry of Justice, where she successfully served in a number of senior roles in organisation design, change management and programme delivery.

Before joining the Civil Service in 2006, Loveday worked within a specialist management consultancy delivering business change, performance improvement, and IT programmes in both the public and private sector.

Session

An industry update on young driver training and testing.

10.30 -10.50

THINK! campaign update

Laura Hill

Head of Marketing Department for Transport

Biography

Laura Hill has been working on public sector marketing campaigns for over 20 years, starting out on teacher recruitment before moving to the Department for Transport.

During her time at DfT Laura has led several high-profile THINK! behaviour change campaigns from the first drug drive campaign to more recent campaigns supporting changes to The Highway Code, drink drive and mobile phone use.

Working across multiple THINK! campaigns has given Laura an in-depth knowledge of young driver attitudes. Her experience lies in strategy and insight, channel planning, partnership marketing and evaluation.

Session

A summary of recent THINK! campaign activity that focuses on the new driver demographic. THINK! campaigns have included:

'CLICK is the sound'. The seat belt campaign encouraging young men to wear their seat belts, whatever the journey, whether they’re drivers or passengers.

'Is pushing your speed worth it?' Speed contributes to around one in four fatal collisions on our road every week, but only 32% of young men consider it risky. This campaign speaks to male drivers aged 17-24 to raise awareness speeding on rural roads.

Laura shares the core insights, results, and learnings. She also looks to the future with an overview of upcoming activities and plans.

Novice drivers and safe distances

Dr. Simon Christmas Jacqueline Upton

Senior Advisor: Social Research and Behaviour Change

National Highways

Biography

Jacqui joined the Social Research and Behaviour Change team at National Highways in ‘21, after 13 years working for the DVSA. She supports the development of both strategic and applied initiatives, helping better understand what its customers think, feel and do.

Simon is an independent social researcher with extensive experience in transport and road safety. He specialises in the use of qualitative methods to explore

Director

Simon Christmas Ltd

how other people experience, make sense of and find value in the world, as a basis for better policies, services or interventions.

Session

Findings from primary research with novice drivers, gathering participants’ accounts of the process of learning to drive and their experiences since passing their test. With the focus on high-speed roads, find out how new drivers behave on busy high-speed roads.

Redefining Road Safety: The Transformative Power of Behavioural Science

Nicola Wass CEO So-Mo

Biography

Nicola Wass is the driving force behind the behavioural science consultancy So-Mo. She has spent the past decade at the helm of transformative change, pioneering innovative strategies and solutions in highways, transportation and road safety. Nicola's expertise is in applied behavioural science.

Session

Seatbelt non-wearing rates amongst Birmingham’s South-Asian communities were six-times higher than the national average, with young people experiencing the greatest impact.

In-depth behavioural analysis underpinned a campaign that resonated deeply with that young audience. Videos, co-designed with South-Asian teenagers harnessed the potent behavioural lever 'anticipated regret,' leading to a staggering 82% reported increase in seatbelt-use among the least compliant.

12.10 -12.30

Young driver and passenger intervention

Lorna Smith

Team LeaderSafer Road Users

Kent County Council

Biography

Lorna is a qualified teacher who has worked in primary, secondary and adult education. She spent 21 years with Kent police undertaking roles in crash scene management, investigation and deployed as a family liaison officer for fatal crashes. She has worked within Kent County Council Road safety team since 2019 and in that time, she has been involved in a range of education, training, and interventions for the 12 to 24-yearold demographic. Lorna is currently the safer road users team leader supporting Kent in their Vision Zero strategy.

Session

Kent County Council (KCC) launched their hybrid virtual young driver and passenger course in 2020, which is designed to empower the learner, the novice driver and young passengers to make safer choices when they get into a car. The five-part programme forms part of KCC’s lifelong learning approach and complements the ‘Speak Out’ campaign. Lorna will outline the course content, overcoming school curriculum conflicts and provide an update following three years of evaluation.

TRUSTED PARTNER OF ROAD SAFETY PROFESSIONALS SINCE 2004

FirstCar celebrates two decades of being a road safety education leader, whether it’s through publishing award-winning magazines, delivering road safety conferences, or providing helpful resources to local authorities. Our simple aim is to better educate vulnerable road users.

Over the past twenty years, we have been on such a journey. We’ve worked tirelessly to develop close working relationships with hundreds of road safety authorities, police forces, fire and rescue teams throughout the UK, and many more in the private sector. Our common goal is to help deliver road safety education messages to vulnerable road users.

Achieving greater and more varied on-road practice when learning to drive. What works?

Shaun Helman

Chief Scientist TRL

Biography

Shaun is an applied psychologist who has worked in transport for over two decades. He is Chief Scientist for Behavioural Sciences at TRL.

Jill Weekley is Technical Lead for the Driver2020 project. She has worked in Transport for nearly two decades. She is a Principal Evaluation Consultant in the behaviour team at TRL.

Session

One way in which authorities have tried to improve the safety of novice drivers is to find ways to help

Jill Weekley

Principal Consultant TRL

them achieve more on-road practice during their learning period. National Highways commissioned this project to undertake a rapid review of published literature, and interviews with experts from around the world who have been involved in the implementation or research of measures designed to increase the amount and variety of on road practice in learner drivers. The work will inform National Highways specifically around the use of the strategic road network in achieving a more varied driving experience in the learner phase.

14.00 -14.20

TikTok – the next frontier in young driver engagement

Keanan Lloyd-Adams

TikToker

FirstCar

Biography

Keanan's first ever job as an actor was with FirstCar back in 2017and he's been working with them ever since! Keanan produces much of FirstCar's young driver road safety content for their TikTok channel and will be supported on stage by FirstCar's founder, James Evans.

Session

Young drivers have begun moving away from Google, Facebook and Instagram, towards more short-form platforms, like TikTok.

James

Evans Founder

FirstCar

This presents a clear risk for road safety, as influencers and channels can easily propagate inaccurate information, or worse, glamourise risky behaviours. Having seeded a successful TikTok channel, FirstCar opened it up for collaboration –allowing road safety professionals who would otherwise find it hard to maintain a TikTok presence to reach their audience through @firstcaruk. This presentation unpicks the opportunities and challenges of running a collaborative young driver channel on TikTok.

Senior Road Safety Officer West Berkshire Council 14.20 -14.40

GoDRIVE – reinventing the wheel!

Cheryl Evans

DCI Mike Bettington Roads Policing Department

Thames Valley Police

Dr. Elizabeth Box

CEO ECM Research Solutions

Biography

Cheryl transformed the way road safety is delivered within West Berkshire during her 16 years of service. Her commitment to working in partnership is an expression of her complete dedication to road safety.

Mike Bettington is Chief Inspector at Thames Valley Police and has been involved in major events such as the riots in London in 2011, the Olympics in 2012, as well as royal weddings and most recently the Queen’s funeral.

Dr. Elizabeth Box has a doctorate in Transport Psychology and is presenting work completed in her capacity as Director of ECM Research Solutions.

Session

Thames Valley and Hampshire have spent many years delivering Safe Drive Stay Alive, but since the evaluation of this programme in 2022, it was clear things needed to change. Their response is not about perfection but achieving a deliverable programme lead by data and research that supported all their partners – this is their journey!

Rerouting the appeal of fear in young driver education

Ian Edwards

Managing Director

New View Consultants

Biography

Ian is an award-winning road safety professional with over 25 years of experience in both the public and private sectors and he holds a MSc. in Social Research and Evaluation and is currently working towards a PhD.

Chris has worked as road safety lead for Devon & Somerset Fire Rescue Service for five years and has been involved in Learn2Live for 10 years.

Chris Boston

Road Safety Lead

Devon & Somerset Fire Rescue Service

Session

The session will explore the Learn2Live road safety partnership’s implementation of the recommendations from the Pre Driver Theatre and Workshop Education research conducted by Dr Elizabeth Box. This presentation will outline the work done to follow best practice, based on evidence and research, which rerouted their approach to young driver education. Big changes have been made to move away from fear appeal, which presented challenges in maintaining target audience engagement, and retaining partner organisation support.

15.00 -15.20

Driving instructors - an undervalued touch point with young drivers? Not anymore

Olly Tayler QPM

Co-Founder

The Honest Truth

Biography

Having served for 30yrs as a Police Officer with 13 of those on Roads Policing he has returned to the world of road safety to head up The Honest Truth working with ADIs and partnerships to help make the next generation of drivers as safe as possible.

Session

contextual and conversationaldelivered at the very moment when learners are deciding what type of road user they want to become.

Road safety professionals know that if they’re lucky, they might get an hour or two at most with young drivers in a school or college setting. Whilst on average, new drivers spend around 30 hours with their driving instructor. Not only does this present an opportunity for additional road safety education, but the best kind,

The Honest Truth has been designed to fit seamlessly into normal driving lessons. Allowing ADIs to deliver road safety education in such a way that their learners just assume ’this is how everyone learns to drive’. No homework, no classroom sessions, no e-learning. Because with 30 hours, there’s should be no need for any extra barriers.

This presentation charts THT’s progress from inception to the present moment of high-growth and explores answers to the question of what role ADIs play in moulding young driver behaviour.

A collaborative approach to young driver safety education

Dan Quin

Chief Fire Officer

Surrey Fire & Rescue Service

Biography

Dan is the National Fire Chiefs Council Road Safety and Road Rescue Lead, with over 20 years’ experience, specialising in postcrash response.

Annabelle is a key member of the road safety team at Devon & Somerset Fire Rescue Service and co-ordinates the Learn2Live partnership which runs road safety education events for 16-18 year olds.

Annabelle Priest

Road Safety Officer

Devon & Somerset Fire Rescue Service

Session

This presentation talks about the collaborative approach being adopted by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) to the design and delivery of evidence-based road safety education. It will outline progress to date, including the further development of the DriveFit intervention designed and tested by Dr Elizabeth Box; and how the NFCC is supporting the development of a suite of young driver focussed products/ packages, that will be consistently delivered across partners.

Co-Pilot is the essential plug-in for any organisation involved in reducing the number of people killed and injured on the roads. Co-Pilot comprises a shared toolbox of high-quality educational interventions, training and publicity assets, as well as a networking community, training centre and library.

Contact: James Evans

E: james@co-pilot.org

W: co-pilot.org

EXHIBITOR SHOWCASE

FirstCar pride itself as being a leader in road safety education, having provided resources to local authorities and the emergency services for 20 years. Most famous for providing magazines aimed at vulnerable road users such as novice drivers, motorcyclists, older driver and cyclists, as well as running events such as Young Driver Focus.

Contact: James Evans

T: 07800 130 8853

E: james@firstcar.co.uk

W: firstcarmedia.co.uk

HEADLINE SPONSOR

GEM Motoring Assist is a members’ motoring and road safety organisation based in the UK. In 1932, our founders set a very clear mission - to help keep everyone safe on the roads. Since then, times have changed, but our values remain untouched. Our founding mission remains at the heart of everything we do, and we still pride ourselves on going the extra mile for our members and other road users. We've been a trusted, independent breakdown recovery provider for more than 40 years and we continue to champion road safety, supporting projects across the UK that all have one thing in common – keeping people safe on the roads. GEM are also leading partners of Blue Light Aware - a resource containing short videos and animations, produced on behalf of the emergency services. Taking the time to watch these videos will contribute to a safer road environment.

Contact: James Luckhurst

T: 07770 608 153

E: press@motoringassist.com

W: motoringassist.com

Servicing the police, fire & rescue and military with our immersive training kits, RedboxVR are the leading Virtual Reality solutions company. Continuing research into the latest technological advances in virtual and augmented reality allow us to provide the ultimate immersive learning experience. We service clients throughout the UK, Europe and worldwide.

Contact: Jason Carver

T: 07590 397 930

E: jason@redboxvr.co.uk

W: redboxvr.co.uk

Road Safety GB is a highly respected road safety organisation with members from local authorities, fire and rescue, police forces, road safety partnerships and businesses. Road Safety GB organise the National Road Safety Conference, runs training courses via the Road Safety GB Academy and manages the Road Safety Knowledge Centre.

Contact: James Gibson

T: 07392 065 133

E: jamesgibson@roadsafetygb.org.uk

W: roadsafetygb.org.uk

Slater and Gordon is a trusted and reputable law firm based. We are more than lawyers; we are your support network in navigating the legal system. With a team of highly skilled and experienced lawyers, paralegals, medical experts, and support staff, we provide comprehensive legal services across a range of practice areas.

Contact: Jamie McDonnell

T: 0330 995 5337

E: jamie.mcdonnell@slatergordon.uk

W: slatergordon.co.uk

The U17CC provides a completely different experience to any other under 17 driving organisation.

The U17CC is a family orientated club. Our Members are instructed by their Associate, normally a parent or guardian, and the member learns to drive in their car.

Pathfinder from the Under 17 Car Club Charitable Trust can help be your route to the road!

Associates are fully supported by the Club’s team of experienced volunteer instructors

Members learn in a safe, secure environment, having fun and building understanding and trust.

Our members progress through a structured programme designed to produce all round better drivers.

Pathfinder is an intensive, practical & comprehensive introduction to driving for prelicence drivers (age 15-17) delivered through intensive 5-day courses. #SafeAt17

There were 1,558 fatalities on Britain’s roads in 2021. 16% of road deaths are 17-24 year-olds, yet they only make up 9% of the driving population. Pathfinder graduates are four times safer than their peers when they begin driving at 17.

The Under 17 Car Club and The Pathfinder Initiative are concerned with the development of thinking young drivers. Participants in the schemes are provided with a structured grounding and monitored advancement of their driving skills and behavioral and attitudinal development to enable them to make safe decisions.

Contact: Dr. John Beckford

T: 07785 360 249

E: john@under17driver.co.uk

W: under17-carclub.co.uk & under17driver.co.uk

TMS provides practical solutions to improve road safety by offering road safety audits, training courses and a variety of other road safety services. Our key driving principle is to deliver services that make roads safer for everyone and we are proud of our reputation as experts in our field.

Contact: Richard Cook / Jess Waldron

T: 02476 690 900

E: info@tmsconsultancy.co.uk

W: tmsconsultancy.co.uk

Westcotecandthe FutureofSpeedWatch

AutomaticSpeedWatchCamera (ASWC)specificallydesignedforthe automationoftraditionalSpeedWatch sessionscarriedoutbyvolunteerswithin thecommunity.

TheASWCdesignedandmanufactured byWestcotecinNorfolk,isaMadein Britainaccreditedunitthatisportable batterypoweredandtripodmountedto allowforrapiddeploymentand relocation.

Thedeviceitselfincludinglicensefree softwarewasdesignedincollaboration withPoliceforcesacrosstheUKto ensureitsusabilityandsuitability.

Oncedeployed,asimplesetupprocessusingaWindows

Oncedeployed,asimplesetupprocessusingaWindows laptopallowsforfastrecordingofoverspeedvehicles registrationdetails,togetherwithdate&timestamp, speed,andbyusingaDVLAplugin,themake,modeland colouroftheoffendingvehicle.

WestcotecarepleasedtobeworkingalongsidePolice Forces,SpeedWatchGroupsandParishCouncilstosupply thisequipmentwiththeaimtoreducevehiclespeedsand ultimatelythechanceoffatalitiesduetospeedingonthe roadnetwork.

TTC 2000 Limited is a leading provider of driver education and road safety services. With a commitment to improving road safety, we offer innovative solutions, including driver training, risk management, and eLearning programs. Our expertise helps individuals and organisations promote safer driving behaviours, reducing risk for all road users.

Contact: Jay Chimen

T: 07803 538 565

E: jayhan.chimen@ttc-uk.com

W: thettcgroup.com

SILVER SPONSOR

For more than two decades, Westcotec has grown to become one of the industry leaders in vehicle activated signs and other related technologies. Within the last few years Westcotec has transitioned into being an employee-owned company. Westcotec are fully UK based with their factory and support functions all at their Norfolk home. Westcotec deliver a high level of post-sale support that has led to the development of long-term relationships with both public and private sector customers.

Contact: Olly Samways

T: 01362 853 124

E: sales@westcotec.co.uk

W: westcotec.co.uk

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