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TORG are pleased to announce this week's Wednesday lunchtime seminar: "The Variability of Road Safety Scheme Appraisal Techniques and the Need for Innovative Risk Identification on North Yorkshire's Roads" Allan McVeigh, Head of Road Safety, North Yorkshire County Council and Craig Higgins, Researcher in Transport, TORG About the seminar: In May 2010 a change in UK Government brought about a change in road safety strategy, policy and guidance. The changes in these areas have led to the abolition of national road safety targets in a call for innovation in tackling a number of key road safety challenges. Prior to the decision to move away from hard targets for collision reduction on the UK road network, numerous published methods existed as guidance for Local Authorities to best appraise their schemes. This presentation will highlight the inconsistencies in each method and present the variability in the perceived impact of schemes. Given the potentially misleading results of road safety scheme appraisal when driven by national targets in collision reductions, what impacts will the shift to more innovative risk identification techniques and the abolition of targets have on road safety schemes appraisal on North Yorkshire's Roads? About the presenter: Allan McVeigh is the Integrated Transport Group Manager for North Yorkshire County Council and he is responsible for Road Safety Engineering, Road Safety Education and Travel Awareness, Development Management and Transport Planning functions. Allan has a BA in Business Management and studied for an MSc in Transport Planning Practice at the University of Leeds. The Integrated Transport Group members work closely with one another as well as private sector partners to ensure a holistic approach to Road Safety with the aim of remedying any identified risks to all road users on North Yorkshire's road network. Craig Higgins joined the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences as a Researcher in Transport in November 2011 having studied for an MSc in Transport Engineering and Operations within the school. Prior to this time he spent four years working in the private sector as a Consultant at Jacobs Consultancy having graduated from Newcastle University with a BSc in Geographic Information Science. During his time at Jacobs, Craig worked closely with North Yorkshire County Council's Integrated Transport Group. As part of that relationship, Craig helped develop, implement and support a method of risk identification and route management on North Yorkshire's road network. This work further expanded upon his MSc dissertation which highlighted the variability of collision reduction scheme appraisal techniques and thus the advantages of better identifying risk before implementing schemes. Seminar Location: Please join us on Wednesday 18/04/2012 between 13:00-15:00 in Room 2.32, Cassie Building, Claremont Road, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU. The Cassie Building is building number 49 on the Campus Map<http://www.ncl.ac.uk/about/visit/printablemaps/map-campus.htm> and is about a 5-10 minute walk from Haymarket metro/bus interchange or Jesmond metro station, both of which are easily accessible from Newcastle Central station or Newcastle International Airport. Car parking in and around the University campus is limited, but Park and Ride options are available from seven metro stations within Newcastle - please see the Nexus website Metro Map<http://www.nexus.org.uk/sites/nexus.org.uk/files/images/metro/Metro_Map_3rd_A4.jpg> for more details. Further information: The TORG seminars are intended to disseminate ongoing research and encourage detailed discussions of a diverse range of transport topics in an informal environment - for further information on a specific seminar, please contact Dr. Dilum Dissanayake<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or Dr. Gareth Evans<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. The TORG seminars are part of a wider programme within the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences<http://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/> all of which are free of charge and open for external guests to attend. Please let Miss Emma Simblett<mailto:[log in to unmask]> know if you wish to attend a TORG seminar to allow names of external guests to be noted. After the seminar, and where suitable content is available, we try to make the presentations available online<http://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/seminars/index.htm>, subject to our presenters giving their permission for us to do so. We look forward to seeing you.