Chief scientist at Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to reflect on safety

CHAPEL HILL -- Highway safety will be the topic of a free public lecture by Dr. Allan F. Williams, chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, April 28 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Reflections on the Highway Safety Field" will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building auditorium. A reception will follow.

The University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, the UNC Highway Safety Research Center and the department of psychology are sponsoring the Patricia F. Waller Lecture.

Williams has conducted research on a wide variety of highway safety issues, published more than 300 articles in professional journals and received numerous awards in recognition of his accomplishments in alcohol, drug and traffic safety.

He conducted the first observational survey of children traveling in cars in the 1970s that revealed the low use of child restraints. Williams’ research led to the subsequent adoption of child restraint laws in all states. He was the chief architect of the original "Click It or Ticket" program that demonstrated the effectiveness and public acceptability of highly publicized law enforcement in increasing seat belt use.

Williams’ research on young drivers helped form the basis for graduated licensing programs.

Dr. Patricia Fossum Waller, who died in 2003, received her doctorate in psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill and worked for nearly two decades as a UNC Highway Safety Research Center researcher.

She launched the Injury Prevention Research Center with a vision merging her background in traffic safety with public health perspectives on injury control. She later was director of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institution and professor of public health policy and administration. She retired to Chapel Hill in 1999.

For more information on the lecture, please contact Karen Demby at karen_demby@med.unc.edu.

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News Services contact: Deb Saine, 962-8415, deborah_saine@unc.edu