Our Speakers

Lilian Greenwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Local Transport)

A new direction: the Government's Road Safety Strategy and what it means for young drivers

In January 2026, the Government launched its first national Road Safety Strategy in over a decade, setting out an ambitious plan to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain's roads by 65% by 2035. In this session, Lilian will discuss the strategy's implications for young driver safety, including the consultation on a minimum learning period for learner drivers, measures to tackle drink and drug driving, and the roll-out of mandatory vehicle safety technologies under Dev's Law. With road safety now firmly back on the national agenda, this is a rare opportunity to hear directly from the minister responsible - and to put your questions to her.

Lilian Greenwood has been the Labour MP for Nottingham South since 2010 and was appointed Minister for Local Transport at the Department for Transport in September 2025. Her portfolio includes responsibility for road safety, local transport, active travel, and motoring agencies including DVSA and DVLA. Lilian previously served as Minister for the Future of Roads from July 2024, and before entering government she chaired the Transport Select Committee from 2017 to 2020. Earlier in her parliamentary career, she served as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport and as Shadow Rail Minister. In January 2026, she presented the Government's Road Safety Strategy to the House of Commons - the first such strategy in over a decade.

Emma Burley
Communications Lead, TyreSafe

Tread Carefully: The Hidden Dangers Putting Young Drivers at Risk

Every year, hundreds of young drivers face avoidable collisions, breakdowns, or penalty points because of one simple oversight — their tyres. Despite being their vehicle’s only point of contact with the road, tyre safety remains one of the most under-taught aspects of driver education.

In this session, Emma Burley will share new research and insights into the risks young drivers face, highlighting how poor tyre maintenance contributes to preventable incidents and penalties. Drawing on TyreSafe’s latest campaign and real-world data, the session builds an evidence-based case for action — showing why educating young drivers about tyre safety isn’t just about vehicles, but about protecting lives, livelihoods, and licences.

With a personal perspective as both a road safety advocate and parent of a new driver, Emma will explore how we can better engage this at-risk group through partnerships with driving instructors, colleges, parents, and digital campaigns. The call to action is clear: by teaching young drivers to ACT — check their Air pressure, Condition and Tread — we can make a measurable difference.

Emma Burley has worked closely with TyreSafe for several years, leading the development and delivery of impactful communications that support the charity’s mission. 

She works alongside stakeholders, trustees, and the wider team to create timely campaigns that drive awareness and behaviour change, ensuring tyre safety remains a national conversation.

Pauline Reeves
Director of Driver Services , DVSA

How DVSA is helping to improve young driver safety

An overview of the work DVSA is doing to support young driver safety. This will include the work we are doing to change learner driver attitudes and behaviours through the Ready to Pass? campaign and how we are working better with the industry to improve road safety.

Pauline Reeves OBE is Director of Driver Services at DVSA. Pauline oversees the national strategy and operations for driver testing and training. Prior to this, Pauline served as Head of the Road Safety Division at the Department for Transport (DfT).

Simon Turner
Engagement Manager, Driving for Better Business

Driving Culture from Day One: How Employers Shape Young Drivers’ Futures

Young drivers are often just seen as just 17-year-olds learning to pass their driving test, but employers play a crucial role in shaping their behaviour, especially apprentices and graduates. Simon will describe how employers in the Driving for Better Business community have identified the increased risks for young drivers in the workforce and developed bespoke training programmes to improve their attitude to road risk. Simon will also unveil a new Driving for Better Business resource to help employers manage young and novice drivers, providing practical steps to build safer habits and lasting road safety culture.

Simon has championed work-related road safety for 20 years, the last ten as Engagement Manager for National Highways’ Driving for Better Business programme. He’s a Trustee of ARRM, key figure in Project EDWARD, member of PACTS’ Road User Behaviour Group, and judge for the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards.

Dan Campsall & Dr Özgün Özkan
Chairman & Senior Consultant, Agilysis

Workshop: 'Young drivers and the safe system'

This workshop will explore the wide range of protective measures from across the Safe System that can work together to improve young driver safety. In an hour long

interactive session, we will consider risk young driver risk factors and work around the system to highlight the various elements which could interact be layered up to eliminate harm. Drawing on international practice and UK experiences of designing Safe System interventions, participants will be encouraged to think critically and explore how they can approach young driver safety through a Safe System lens. The workshop will include:

  • Review of Young Driver risk factors from a Safe System perspective

  • Reflection on international practices and their application to local context

  • Evaluation of interaction between system elements to enhance safety

  • Consideration of behavioural diagnosis as part to intervention design

  • Planning for improvements in your area

Dan is a pioneering transport professional, with experience across public and private sectors, Dan is a founder and chair of Agilysis. He leads projects in the UK looking at integrating Safe System practice and with global institutions such as the WHO reviewing national road safety performance. He is also chair of PACTS.

Özgün is an experienced researcher of behavioural and traffic psychology, particularly interested in human factors and user experience in the traffic environment. She has worked to support clients such as Transport Scotland, TfL and National Highways with projects building Safe System capacity, and the effects of enhancing speed management.

Sophie Tucker & Eve Miller
Research and Data Specialist & PR and Outreach Executive, Maze Media

Screaming into the Gen Z void: Are you actually engaging young drivers with your social content?

Exploring how social media can be used to effectively engage and educate Gen Z learner drivers. We’ll begin with an overview of the most popular social platforms and their relevance for young audiences, followed by insights into what platforms Gen Z are using as search engines. We will deep dive into understanding how to create effective learner driver content on both TikTok and YouTube, leveraging content styles, algorithms, data analytics, and influencer partnerships to boost reach and authenticity.

Five take outs from this session:

  1. Remember that Gen Z are using social media as a search engine to learn

  2. TikTok and YouTube are the best platforms for learner driver content

  3. Utilise influencers where appropriate

  4. Keep your content relatable

  5. Don’t just engage them, answer their questions

Cheryl Evans
Senior Road Safety Officer, West Berkshire Council

GoDrive: The Road Ahead

The GoDrive family continues to grow, building on the strong foundations of the pilot programme. This session explores how maintaining content control ensures quality, consistency, and credibility as GoDrive achieves increasing reach nationally. It will highlight how the programme continues to evolve - staying relevant, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of today’s young drivers. GoDrive’s progress reflects a commitment to innovation and collaboration, ensuring it remains dynamic and continually driving forward.

Kate Garrigan/Matt Hyland
Leicestershire Fire & Rescue/Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue

“5 in 5” A new Virtual reality film for young drivers

Over 10 years ago Leicestershire FRS was pioneering production of the first road safety virtual reality film. The film showed four young people involved in a fatal crash and gave the viewer an immersive experience of the aftermath of the accident.

The film has been widely used across the road safety sector but with research and guidance changing around young driver education, a new intervention was needed.

A joint project with Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service and First Car Media presents a new snappy, ‘5 risks in 5 minutes’ film, arming young drivers with the facts and coping strategies to become safer drivers.

Dr Elizabeth Box
Director, ECM Research Solutions

DriveFit 2.0: Scaling pre-driver education

DriveFit 2.0 is a redesigned pre-driver road safety programme, developed to be delivered directly by teachers within schools and colleges. Building on the original DriveFit trial, which combined film content with professional facilitation, DriveFit 2.0 adapts these elements into three teacher-led lessons focusing on hazard perception, vehicle safety, and managing fatigue and speed. A recent evaluation, delivered with the support of Surrey Fire and Rescue Service and funding from the Road Safety Trust, highlights its feasibility, student acceptability, and potential to engage harder-to-reach groups such as young men. This session shares findings and reflects on the balance between scalability and impact in pre-driver education.

Dr Elizabeth Box is Director of ECM Research Solutions and a behavioural science consultant specialising in road safety and transport psychology. With over 20 years’ experience, she designs and evaluates evidence-based interventions that translate research into practical solutions for government, industry and education settings.