50th CIECA Congress: Call for papers

50th CIECA Congress 2018

31 May 2018, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Call for papers

“Safe driving for life: changing attitude and behaviour through education,

training and testing”

 

08.11.2017. The 50th CIECA General Assembly and Congress will take place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 May 2018. The General Assembly and Congress will be hosted by the Driver & Vehicle Agency in the Europa Hotel, which is situated in Belfast City Centre.

Over the years various changes in driver education, training and testing have been introduced around the world in an attempt to improve the ability of novice drivers and reduce the risk of them being involved in a collision. These changes are mainly designed to address both the inexperience and immaturity of (young) novice drivers and have generally been in the form of:

  • changes to the overall structure of pre-test practice, for instance introducing a minimum number of hours of on-road driving before a learner is allowed to take the practical test.
  • improving the quality of driver training and education, in terms of structure, methods and/or content to include elements of high-order skills associated with the GDE matrix.
  • changes to the driving test, such as longer on road driving times in the practical test, introducing independent driving and the introduction of hazard perception testing.
  • the introduction of probationary periods, with restrictions and tighter conditions for novice drivers in the initial driving period after passing the test.

In spite of these measures, the collision rate of young novice drivers aged between 17 and 24 remains higher than any other age group.  Research would suggest this is most likely due to two main factors:

  1. A lack of driving experience: young novice drivers have inadequate higher-order skills such as hazard perception and being capable of adjusting the risk to their own abilities.
  2. Age-related factors such as the development of the brain, their extra sensitivity to the social environment and the effect of factors such as alcohol, drugs and distraction.

If these factors have a direct link to high collision rates and high-risk factors among novice drivers, what more can be done to influence attitude and behaviour in order to reduce the high rate of road traffic incidents, which all too often result in death and serious injury, caused by young novice drivers?

In order to answer this question, abstracts are invited from potential speakers to present.

All submissions should be sent to Eva Mateo. Please note that the deadline for the submission of the abstracts is 8 December 2017. Information on the submission guidelines can be found here.

Abstracts of individual papers will be peer reviewed by the CIECA Programme Committee and you will be informed of the outcome of the review by 20 February 2018.

For any queries regarding the submission process, please contact Eva Mateo.