NEWS RELEASE
23 April 2004
AA DRIVER EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2004
With the Government debating whether to ban the use of mobile phones while driving, international experts on ‘driver
behaviour’ and ‘driver distractions’ will shed some light on the subject for delegates at the AA Driver Education
Conference in Wellington on the 28 & 29th April at the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor.
Dr Sarah Redshaw from the University of Western Sydney, will focus on driver behaviour following on from her research in
the area of youth and road safety. Dr Michael Regan a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University, Accident Research
Centre, Melbourne will speak about driver distractions.
Peter Sheppard, chief executive of the AA Driver Education Foundation, says Sarah Redshaw’s work investigates the social
importance of motor vehicle use. “Through her research she is able to show that social and emotional skills are just as
important as car handling skills, when managing the risks of driving”.
Peter Sheppard says driver distraction is an increasing factor in road crashes, particularly with the increase in new
technology, which has complicated the driving task.
“It is important to recognise the influence distractions have on driver performance. Driver distractions need to be
managed to reduce their influence on risk and appropriate interventions or countermeasures need to be implemented to
manage these risks.”
Peter Sheppard says the conference will allow New Zealand driver educators to explore some of the issues surrounding
driver behaviour and the impact of driving distractions across all sectors of the driving population. “It will be an
opportunity to consider what changes may be necessary to the driver education curriculum in order to cope with these
issues”, he says.
“The good work being done by Police enforcement and LTSA advertising campaigns still have their limitations and we
believe more effort should be made to influence driver behaviour through areas of peer education and innovative learning
styles”, he says.
He says at a time when the World Health Organisation recognises that that if current trends continue, road traffic
injuries will be the third leading contributor to the global burden of disease and injury world-wide, the field of
driver education has never been more important.
ENDS