Congratulations to Dr Tana Tan who was presented with the 2020 ACRS Young Leader’s Oration Award at the ACRS Award Ceremony during the opening of National Road Safety Week on Sunday 15th November. The award recognises Dr Tan’s inspiring work and potential for future leadership in the field of road safety.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack, who opened the ceremony via a video presentation, has congratulated Dr Tan for his contribution to road safety research.
“The work that Dr Tan is doing both in Australia and internationally is important in the efforts to reduce road trauma globally,” Mr McCormack said.
“With more than 90 per cent of the world’s 1.35 million annual road fatalities occurring in low- and middle-income countries it is crucial that the latest in road safety knowledge is shared.”
Martin Small, President of the Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) presented the award to Dr Tan.
“The Australasian College of Road Safety is committed to the elimination of fatal and serious injuries by 2050, and Dr Tana Tan embodies the rising and diverse talent that we will need to get there,” Mr Small said.
“Dr Tan’s work to date has greatly impressed the College Fellows, and his work in Thailand reflects well on both our profession and the current international outreach efforts of the College. May this award inspire a new wave of road safety professionals.”
Dr Tan has more than 14 years of experience as a consultant in the fields of the biomechanics of human injury, passenger vehicle safety and motorcycle safety. As an active road safety professional Dr Tan has conducted extensive work with road safety organisations and government departments to improve infrastructure and policy.
He is currently the project manager for updating and restructuring of the Austroads Guide to Road Safety. He has also project managed the development and deployment of the Austroads Barrier Assessment Panel (ASBAP) online submission system which allows Austroads to evaluate barrier safety performance more efficiently.
A passionate motorcyclist himself, Dr Tan has been working hard to improve road safety for this vulnerable road user group. Dr Tan works closely with government in this area and is actively engaged in developing evaluation framework for the Victorian and Tasmanian governments’ motorcycle safety programs. He is also updating the Victorian Department of Transport’s Making Roads Motorcycle Friendly manual. He has also project managed a pilot study for Transport for New South Wales to understand whether audio-tactile line-markings negatively affect motorcyclists.
Dr Tan also works internationally. Since 2017 he has been working with the Department of Rural Roads, Thailand, building capacity through knowledge transfer. He has been instrumental in 5 courses that were delivered to the DRR since 2017. The knowledge has been adapted to suit local conditions and then applied to over 900 sites in Thailand. The recent policies and procedures implemented by the DRR have contributed to a 57 per cent reduction in fatal crashes and a 60 per cent reduction in serious injury crashes at the treated sites. He is currently working to engage further with Thailand and other LMIC governments to help reduce fatal and serious injury crashes.
For his win, Dr Tana Tan receives a plaque and the opportunity to present an oration on any subject to the broad audience of road safety stakeholders. We look forward to sharing further information about this presentation. The ACRS and members of the road safety community across Australasia congratulate Dr Tana Tan on his outstanding contributions and his 2020 ACRS Young Leaders Oration Award win.