NEWS RELEASE
17 April, 2003
AA Driver Education Foundation Conference
The LTSA estimate there will be 400 fatalities and nearly 6,000 hospitalisations from road crashes in 2004, with social
costs of $3 billion. Road death fatalities before the Easter holiday break are already 20 more than the same time last
year. In one horror weekend in March, 15 people were killed (the average number of deaths over a weekend are 4).
The Driver Education Conference 30 April – 1 May, brings together in one forum all those involved in driver education,
working towards the same goal as the Government in their 2010 Road Safety Strategy.
Road Safety experts at the conference will cover a wide range of subjects, including novice drivers, older drivers,
cyclists, fleet driver safety, “speed junkies”, distracters such as cell phones, national standards and driving being
considered a ‘work hazard’.
Students Against Drunk Drivers (SADD) will be reporting on their campaign and there will be a report on the new Alchemy
Driver Programme, an incentive based programme to make younger drivers better drivers while earning better insurance
options and a nationally recognised qualification on the NZQA framework.
Keynote speakers at the conference include;
-Dr Will Murray, a UK specialist in fleet and work related road safety and risk management. - Mr Peter Baas, a leading
New Zealand expert on heavy vehicle stability. - Dr Robert Isler, who is widely published in the area of human
performance research, undertaking studies using sophisticated eye tracking technology in order to analyse eye movements
in a large variety of traffic simulations. -Dr Ron Christie, who has over 20 years in road safety policy and has
considerable expertise in the road user behaviour field, including the development and licensing of novice drivers
Chief Executive of the AA Driver Education Foundation, Peter Sheppard, urges people to drive carefully over the Easter
break. “The major causes of crashes are so preventable – being speed, alcohol and failure to give way.”
2003 Driver Education Foundation Conference, 30 April – 1 May 2003, James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington. To
Register contact Maryanne Dransfield (09) 528 6092 or e mail pacificpr@ihug.co.nz
ENDS