Every Second Matters Symposium

Press Release

Disrupting Distraction

More than 130,000 traffic collisions were reported in Alberta in 2016, resulting in nearly 300 lives lost and more than 16,600 injured*. Policymakers, law enforcement and victims' families point to distracted driving as an important contributing factor in traffic collisions today. But so far, efforts to curb distracted driving have fallen woefully short. With 94 percent of crashes involving human error**, can brain science and psychology provide insights to dramatically reduce distraction-related roadway fatalities and injuries? Can technology play a role in solving the problem it helped to create? On October 3, 2018 we explored the distracted brain and the most promising approaches to combat distracted driving.

Presented by the Travelers Institute, the Risk Management and Insurance Program at the University of Calgary Haskayne Business School, Professional Young Insurance Brokers, Pacific Western Transportation, the National Safety Council and the Road to Zero Coalition.

Panel Discussion
Moderator- Jessica Kearney, Executive Director, Travelers Institute
Dr. Jeffrey Caird, Professor, Department of Psychology; Adjunct Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary
Stephen Evans, Vice President, Safety, Pacific Western Transportation
Constable Les Mills, Traffic Section, Calgary Police Service 
Jordan Solway, Group General Counsel & Vice President, Claims, Travelers Canada 

Closing Presentation: "ELA" Autonomous Shuttle
Stephen Evans, Vice President, Safety, Pacific Western Transportation

When: 
Wednesday, October 3, 2018   
11:30 a.m. Networking & Registration
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Luncheon Program

Where:
University of Calgary 
MacEwan Student Centre Ballroom 3rd Floor
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
Campus Map

*Source: Alberta Government

**Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration