Distraction and inattention more in focus than ever
Nearly 150 delegates from 23 countries attended the 5th edition of the International Conference on Driver Distraction and Inattention (DDI2017) held in Paris on March 20-22. The co-organisers SAFER, the French institute IFSTTAR and Australian ARRB Group are very pleased with the outcome which shows that distraction and inattention definitely are in focus worldwide, more than ever.
Nearly 150 delegates from 23 countries attended the 5th edition of the International Conference on Driver Distraction and Inattention (DDI2017) held in Paris on March 20-22. The co-organisers SAFER, the French institute IFSTTAR and Australian ARRB Group are very pleased with the outcome which shows that distraction and inattention definitely are in focus worldwide, more than ever.
Researchers, engineers and students from universities, industry and governmental organisations discussed the topics during sessions and coffee breaks. 53 scientific presentations were held, and in addition to the technical parallel sessions there were four special sessions and three provocative and mind twisting keynote speeches. Six sponsors and exhibitors added value to the conference: Volvo Group, Smart Eye, TRANSPOLIS S.A.S., SMI-BIOPAC, ProtextMe and TEA.
“DDI has a certain spirit and gathers a dedicated research community. It is amazing how quickly this field of research has developed and SAFER is proud of being in the midst of that research flow”, says Anna Nilsson-Ehle, director at SAFER.
Mind twisting keynote speeches
The keynote about mind wandering by Kalina Christoff, Associate Professor in the Psychology Department and the Brain Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, was truly mind bending and highly appreciated. Also the provocative talk by René Amalberti, Senior Adviser Patient Safety at the Haute Autorité de Santé and risk manager in medical insurance (MACSF), got a lot of attention. Michael Regan, Chief-Scientist-Human Factors at ARRB Group and Adjunct professor with the School of Aviation at the University of NSW, gave a speech about his broad and impressive experience within human factors.
First DDI conference held 2009
The idea of a driver distraction and inattention conference was born at SAFER in Gothenburg around a decade ago as a consequence of several new research projects and the fact that Michael Regan, then at former INRETS now at ARRB Group, had come to SAFER as an adjunct professor. Trent Victor, now at Volvo Cars, and Michael Regan together with Anna Nilsson-Ehle and Lisa Knutsson, SAFER, decided to start an international conference on driver distraction and inattention and foster an international community of behavioural scientists, engineers, and governmental representatives and others.
SAFER has hosted three conferences in Gothenburg, one in Sydney and the latest one in Paris. DDI2018 will be held in Gothenburg in September 2018, and thereafter the conference will be organised even years. Today the conference plays an important role within the field.
Conference proceedings available
DDI2017 proceedings with abstracts and peer-reviewed papers are available on the conference website (https://ddi2017.sciencesconf.org). They will be updated in the following weeks with the speakers' presentations.
