International conference on driver distraction and inattention in Göteborg

On September 28-29, the vehicle and traffic safety centre SAFER at Chalmers and the French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research, INRETS, gather stakeholders from the field of driver distraction and inattention as a factor in traffic safety.

Distraction and inattention are significant road safety problems, around the world. The contribution of distraction as a factor in road trauma is likely to increase as more distractions, inside and outside the vehicle, compete for driver attention.

Simultaneously as the role of distraction and inattention in traffic safety is becoming clearer, there is an intensified development of countermeasures, and an intensified focus on the fundamental science of attention in modern neuroscience research.

The conference in Göteborg is the first international conference on this area. It aims to bring participants from all over the world up - to date on recent developments in the field, to bring into the spotlight developments in research from neighboring disciplines that have an important bearing on the problem, and to showcase new and emerging technologies, products and other countermeasures which have significant potential to prevent or mitigate distraction and inattention.

Key note speakers
Claes Tingvall, Road Safety Director, Swedish Road Administration, Sweden,
Michael Perel, Former Chief, Human Factors/Engineering Integration Division, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), USA
Peter A Hancock, Professor, Department of Psychology and Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, USA.

Additionally, a large number of presentations will be held, among them several by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology.

Media are welcome!

Date and time: Monday September 28: 8.00 am - 5.45 pm, Tuesday September 29: 8.00 am - 6.00 pm.
Place: Lindholmen Conference Centre
Address: Lindholmspiren 5, 4th floor, Lindholmen Science Park, Göteborg, Sweden.

Contacts:
Lisa Knutsson, SAFER, information officer, press and media coordinator
Tel: +4631-772 21 11, lisa.knutsson@chalmers.se
Trent Victor, SAFER and Volvo Technology, tel: +4631-322 66 51, trent.victor@volvo.com
Michael Regan, Research Director, French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research (INRETS), Adjunct Professor at Applied mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, tel: +33 4 72 14 23 21, Mobile: +33 6 71 61 55 20

Facts:
SAFER, The Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers, is a joint research unit using competence from 22 partners from the academy, society and the industry. The Centre is hosted by Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden.

INRETS, The French National Institutefor Transport and Safety Research, is a state-financed scientific and technological body under the administrative supervision of the Ministries in charge of Research and Transport.