ARSC 2024 Speakers

Dr. Lars Ekman

Senior Advisor, Swedish Transport Administration

Dr. Lars Ekman has a background as researcher at Lund University, Sweden. His research focused on traffic safety evaluation applied on pedestrians and bicyclists. Lars Ekman has also for a long time been involved in international collaborations in the field of traffic safety both on a European with CEDR and global arena. He has worked as an expert in traffic safety at the Swedish Transport Administration with special emphasis on traffic safety countermeasures.

Lars Ekman popular speaker on the topic of The Vision Zero, often in connection to the Vision Zero Academy.

Dr. Helen Wells

Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Keele University

Dr Helen Wells has been conducting research into roads policing topics for over 20 years. She is a criminologist based at Keele University in the UK, and also Director of the international Roads Policing Academic Network which she established in 2018 and which now has over 260 members from across academia, policy-making and frontline practice.

Her work has explored (amongst other things) ANPR, speed cameras, driver distraction, drink and drug driving, uninsured driving, BWV, autonomous vehicles and dash cams and she has delivered funded projects for police forces, the UKs National Police Chiefs’ Council, Police and Crime Commissioners, the Department for Transport, and the Home Office. Helen sits on a variety of national strategic and governance boards in the UK roads policing space.

Dr. Amantha Imber

Director, Inventium

Dr Amantha Imber is an organisational psychologist and founder of behaviour change consultancy Inventium. Amantha is also the co-creator of the Australian Financial Review’s Most Innovative Companies list and the AFR BOSS Best Places to Work list and has worked with companies such as Google, Apple, Disney, LEGO, and Atlassian.

In 2019, Amantha was named as one of the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence. In 2021, she won the Thinkers50 Innovation Award (described by the Financial Times as the ‘Oscars for Management Thinking’).

Amantha is also the host of the number one ranking business podcast How I Work, which has had over 5 million downloads. Amantha’s thoughts have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Entrepreneur and Fast Company and she is the author of three bestselling books, including international bestseller Time Wise. Her latest book The Health Habit is out now.

Carla Hoorweg

CEO, ANCAP Safety

Carla has been leading ANCAP Safety since December 2020. Prior to ANCAP, Carla held a number strategy, policy, legal and product development roles across the financial sector.

Her qualifications include Juris Doctor and Masters of Law (UTS), Executive MBA (AGSM) and Applied Psychology (Canberra). Carla is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Prof. Stuart Newstead

Director, Monash University Accident Research Centre

Stuart Newstead Professor and Director of the Monash University Accident Research Centre where he also leads the Centre’s Injury Analysis and Data team. He holds a Ph.D. in applied statistics and is accredited by the Australian Statistical Society. He has worked at MUARC since 1993 and has developed specific expertise in a wide range of safety research areas with a numerical focus.

His areas of significant topic-based expertise include a particular focus on: road safety program evaluation; vehicle safety evaluation, monitoring and policy setting; police enforcement programs including policy and practice advice; vulnerable and high-risk road user safety and countermeasures; injury data systems design and analysis; and injury severity metrics.

Jerome Carslake

Director, Monash University

Jerome Carslake is the Director of the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) which is delivered by the Monash University Accident Research Centre. Jerome has extensive knowledge in workplace road safety management, program delivery and the collaborative development of solutions. Jerome excels in the delivery of complex collaborative multiple stakeholder projects such as Suicide in Road Transport Prevention; the Construction Logistics and Community Safety – Australia which was adapted from Transport for London; development of the NRPSP’s Toolbox Talks and integration of NTI’s, Australia’s largest heavy vehicle insurer, major incident research report known as NTARC2.0 to name a few.

Jerome’s origins are from the northern wheat belt of Western Australia with studies in agricultural science, agribusiness, project management, strategic research and stakeholder engagement. He has a Masters in Agribusiness and Bachelor of Agricultural Science. His passion is in teamwork and collaboration which originate from his rowing at an elite level in Western Australia as both a rower and coach.

Llew O’Brien

Federal Member for Wide Bay, Parliament of Australia

Llew O’Brien is the Federal Member for Wide Bay. He was elected to the Australian Parliament at the 2016 Federal Election, and re-elected in May 2019 and May 2022. Before entering Parliament, Llew served as a police officer in the Wide Bay region for 16 years and specialised in criminal intelligence and traffic accident investigation. During his time as a road crash investigator, Llew became a passionate advocate for road safety.

His experiences motivated him to stand for public office in Wide Bay where he could continue to campaign for improved roads, particularly the Bruce Highway. Following his election, Llew took his fight for safer roads to Canberra, and in 2018 he convinced his colleagues in Parliament to fast-track delivery of the $1 billion Bruce Highway Gympie bypass and secured funding for the four lane Tiaro bypass. He continues his work to reduce road death tragedies in his role as Joint Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Road Safety.

Nick Stowe

Fleet Lead, Hydro Tasmania

Nick brings more than six years of fleet experience to continue Hydro Tasmania’s 10-year commitment to the National Road Safety Partnership Program.

With a medium-sized fleet travelling more than six million kilometres each year on challenging roads and conditions, Nick is particularly dedicated to driver behaviour, working with teams and individuals to reinforce confident and competent defensive driving across the organisation.

Melissa Cashman

Assistant Secretary Vehicle Safety Policy and Partnerships, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA)

Melissa Cashman, Assistant Secretary of the Vehicle Safety Policy and Partnerships Branch at the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts, leads the team responsible for developing the Australian Design Rules, policy related to the recently introduced Road Vehicle Standards legislation, and the management of the supporting ROVER IT system.

Melissa has worked in regulation since the 1990’s; first as a NSW Police Officer serving in both in general duty and forensic roles. That work developed Melissa’s passion for safety, and for the last 12 years she has specialised in transport related policy and regulation, primarily in the areas of aviation and road vehicles.

Neville Taylor APM MAICD

Road Safety Camera Commissioner, Office of the Road Safety Camera Commissioner

Mr Neville Taylor has an extensive background with Victoria Police, contributing to the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020 and the Global Road Safety project, to combat international road trauma.
Locally, with a focus on new enforcement technology, he oversaw the design and implementation of Automatic Number Place Recognition technology, roadside drug testing and red-light, fixed and mobile road safety cameras.
Supported by extensive research, Neville leads the cultural change and discussions of Victorian community attitudes around the enforcement of low-level speeding, mobile phone use, the wearing of seatbelts and their impact on road trauma.

In his role as Road Safety Camera Commissioner, Neville is committed to ensuring the integrity and transparency of road safety camera technology, increasing community confidence in and acceptance of road safety cameras as an important part of enforcement that can contribute to a change in driver behaviour and safer driving habits.