6th International Fit to Drive - Congress in Barcelona (Spain), April 26th - 27th, 2012.

Traffic safety depends mostly on the behaviour of the traffic participants. At the 6th Fit to Drive congress traffic psychologists, traffic physicians and representatives from politics and administrations will discuss about possibilities to further increase safety. They will especially deal with

• primary prevention in pre-school, school and driver education and training
• general prevention through legislation and enforcement, demerit point systems
• secondary prevention with a special focus on the persistent drink and drug driver
• fitness to drive assessment, traffic-psychologist consultancy, rehabilitation and therapy in different countries of the EU
• interlock systems and rehabilitation (Alcolock) and comparative studies of traffic safety in Europe

The focal points of the exchange of experiences are the training of traffic participants and the conditions for fitness to drive. Further points are alcohol and drug driving behaviour, but also dealing with age-related physical and mental changes. Experts will discuss also about the kind of measures which help to bring driving offenders once again to a greater sense of responsibility in traffic.

Reality and Vision - Common problems, European solutions: this is the motto of the 6th Fit to Drive congress on the topic of fitness to drive and related road safety matters in Europe. As the sixth in a series of similar events, Fit to Drive will take place from April 26th – 27th, 2012 in Barcelone (Spain). The congress is organised by the German Association of Technical Inspection Agencies (Verband der TÜV e. V.) in cooperation with Editorial Tráfico Vial S.A. – ETRASA, the Catalonian traffic government Servei Català de Trànsit (Generalitat de Catalunya), the Spanish Official Psychologist Association (Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Psicólogos) and the Psychonomy Research Unit of the university of Valencia.

One of the objectives of Fit to Drive is to contribute towards the European Road Safety Charter. The European Commission had already lunched this program in 2004 to persuade member states, associations, local authorities, research institutes and companies to even higher commitment in the field of traffic safety. By this way the road traffic fatalities within the EU was supposed to be reduced. The German Association of Technical Inspection Agencies (Verband der TÜV e. V.) was one of the first signatories of the Charter. The Fit to Drive congress creates a forum for discussing the development of individual fitness to drive requirements in which the best possible support for individual mobility must be in harmony with the safety demands of society. The co-operation of international organisations should serve to develop a European approach to meeting these needs.

Speakers from EU institutions and a range of European countries will address the following topics: primary prevention in pre-school, school and driver education and training; general prevention through legislation and enforcement, demerit point systems; secondary prevention with a special focus on the persistent drink-driver; risk assessment in medical and psychological matters; fitness to drive assessment, traffic-psychologist consultancy, rehabilitation and therapy in different countries of the EU, interlock systems and rehabilitation and comparative studies of traffic safety in Europe.