Staying Focused at the Wheel Symposium

Programme

Day 1 | Monday 5 September 2011

8:30 – 9:00 A.M. Registration

9:00 A.M. Welcome Address 
Mr. Bruno Petrenas, Chairperson, NZAA Research Foundation

9:10 A.M. Opening Address
Opening Address - The Hon. Nathan Guy, Associate Minister of Transport

9:30 A.M. Keynote Address
Naturalistic Driving Assessments of Driver Behaviour, Distraction and Fatigue - Professor Thomas Dingus, Director, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), Newport News Shipbuilding Professor of Engineering, Virginia Tech

10:30 A.M. Morning tea

11:00 A.M. Keynote Address
Naturalistic Driving: Insights from the Australian experience - Dr. Judith Charlton, Associate Director Behavioural Safety Science, Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC)

12:00 Lunch
eDrive (e-learning driver education) demonstration - Dr. Robert Isler and Nadine Isler, eDrive Solutions

1:00 P.M. Experimental Perspectives 

• Driving without awareness and the tandem model of driving
  Associate Professor Samuel Charlton, Traffic & Road Safety Research group, University of Waikato
• The lack of visual search, situation awareness and hazard perception skills in teen drivers, and some effective remedies
  Dr. Robert Isler, Director, Traffic & Road Safety Research group, University of Waikato
• “Hands on” as a naturalistic data collection method
  Dr. Jared Thomas, Research Manager Behavioural Sciences, Opus International Consultants Central Laboratories
• The feasibility of undertaking a naturalistic driving project in New Zealand
  Mr. Peter Baas, Director and Principal Researcher, TERNZ

3:00 P.M. Afternoon tea

3:30 P.M. Data, Regulation and Definitions

• Driver distraction in the New Zealand Crash Analysis System
  Dr. Craig Gordon, ALAC (formerly Senior Scientist at the Ministry of Transport)
• Driver inattention and driver distraction: What are they?
  Dr. Craig Gordon, Senior Research Advisor, ALAC
• The role of regulation
  Mr. Leo Mortimer, Manager Safety: Road & Rail Group, Ministry of Transport
• The reporting of crash data on driver distraction and fatigue: What the literature reveals
  Mr. William Frith, Research Manager Road Safety, Opus International Consultants Central Laboratories 
• Driver distraction and fatigue: Scale of the issue and data collection
  Mr. Christopher Foley, Principal Advisor, Ministry of Transport

4:30 P.M. Closing Remarks
Mr. Mike Noon, General Manager Motoring Affairs, NZ Automobile Association

Day 2 | Tuesday 6 September 2011

8:30 – 9:00 A.M. Registration

9:00 A.M. Fatigue and Driving

• High rates of microsleeps: A simple case of sleep deficiency?
  Dr. Carrie Innes, Research Fellow, Christchurch Neurotechnology Research Programme, Van der Veer Institute
• Sleeping well and driving safely
  Dr. Alex Bartle, Director, Sleep Well Clinics
• One job or two? Truck driver work and its relationship with sleep, alertness and performance 
  Dr. Hamish Mackie, Director, Mackie Research and Consulting Ltd / Human Factors Consultant, TERNZ

10:30 A.M. Morning tea

11:00 A.M. Keynote Address
Microsleeps: What are they? Are they dangerous? Are they preventable?
Associate Professor Richard Jones, Director, Christchurch Neurotechnology Research Programme, Van der Veer Institute

12.00 Lunch
Video: The psychology of self-enhancement in young drivers - Associate Professor Niki Harré and Dr. Chris Sibley, University of Auckland

1:00 P.M. Specific Driver Groups

• Attitudes and behaviours of learner drivers in New Zealand: Evidence from the NZ Drivers Study: Dr. Dorothy Begg, Senior Research Fellow and Co-ordinator of Road Safety Research, Injury Prevention Research Unit (IPRU), University of Otago
• Driving fatigue: At what stage should driver fatigue issues be taught to adolescent drivers? Mr. Peter Sheppard, Independent Road Safety Consultant
• Healthy older drivers: What is the evidence for increased risk of accidents? Dr. Carrie Innes, Research Fellow, Christchurch Neurotechnology Research Programme, Van der Veer Institute

2:30 P.M. Panel discussion: Policy Perspectives
Convenor: Mr. Bruno Petrenas, Chairperson, NZAA Research Foundation
Panel: Professor Thomas Dingus (VTTI), Dr. Judith Charlton (MUARC), Mr. Christopher Foley (Ministry of Transport), Mr. Andy Foster (TRAFINZ), Ms. Jayne Gale (AA), Mr. Paul Graham (NZTA), Mr. Peter King (AARF), Superintendent Paula Rose (NZ Police)

3:30 P.M. Closing Address
Mr. Bruno Petrenas, Chairperson, NZAA Research Foundation