Duncan Vernon is a senior public health specialist in Warwickshire with a background in transport, road safety and health inequalities. He is Associate/Deputy Director and Consultant in Public Health working across Warwickshire County Council and South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, contributing to the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care System and Health and Wellbeing Board. Previously at RoSPA, he authored “Road Safety and Public Health” and led projects connecting active travel, urban planning and population health. His current work focuses on neighbourhood health, homelessness and health data, and using cross-sector partnerships to improve outcomes for vulnerable communities.

George Chester-Master has built one of the UK’s most influential car culture channels, turning more than a billion views into a force for safer, smarter driving among young and enthusiast drivers. In this episode, he talks candidly to James Luckhurst about his journey from creating engaging performance-focused content to becoming a trusted voice on legality, etiquette and risk on the road. ​ Crucially, George is willing to unpack the story behind his driving ban – how “just a bit over” on several SP30 offences added up to a court appearance, a six‑month loss of licence and a hard reset of his attitudes to speed, responsibility and the consequences of everyday choices. He explains how that experience, together with losing friends to dangerous and impaired driving, reshaped his mission to “race the track, not the road” and to act as a relatable “bigger brother” for his audience.

George's Car Media - Website

George's Car Media - YouTube

George's Car Media - Instagram

George's Car Media - Facebook

George's Car Media - LinkedIn

Renee Rogers from Ono talks to James about supporting drivers following a fleet collision.

Renee is founder and chief executive of Ono, a company that supports drivers and fleets in the aftermath of some of the most stressful incidents on the road, helping them navigate both the human and organisational impacts of collisions. She also serves as a trustee of the Association for Road Risk Management (ARRM), the professional body focused on managing work-related road risk and championing evidence-led, safesystem thinking across organisations of all sizes. In this conversation James Luckhurst explores how her work with Ono and ARRM fits into the Safe System approach, what that means for employers and professional drivers, and how better post‑crash support and leadership can contribute to a future free from death and serious injury on our roads

Ono Website

James talks to Steve Bird about how National Highways and the Emergency Services CLEAR a major incident on the Strategic Road Network

England’s motorways and major A‑roads make up the Strategic Road Network – more than 4,300 miles of high‑speed routes managed and operated by National Highways. This network is among the most advanced anywhere in the world, supporting around 4 million journeys every day and moving over a billion tonnes of freight each year. It underpins the country’s social and economic wellbeing by linking communities, enabling access to employment, and keeping businesses connected.

When a serious incident occurs, a core priority is to resolve the situation quickly and efficiently so any casualties can be swiftly attended to and the road can reopen. The CLEAR approach highlights how teams work closely with emergency services and other partners to achieve these aims.

CLEAR is often described as a way of getting roads open more quickly after major incidents. Steve explains how this fits within the wider Safe System approach where safety, evidence and learning come first rather than simply ‘getting traffic moving’.

Bobby Colleran died in Liverpool in 2014 at the age of six. As a result, his mother Joanne founded the Bobby Colleran Trust and works tirelessly to provide children with road safety education resources. In March 2023, after years of fundraising and dedication, she opened Bobby’s Base, a unique health and well-being centre in West Derby, Liverpool. This one-of-a-kind, child-friendly space offers therapy, a sensory garden, and a calm, nurturing environment where children can heal, build resilience, and regain confidence.

James Luckhurst went to Bobby's Base where he caught up with Joanne and her colleague Anne Mckenna.

The Bobby Colleran Trust

For this episode, we welcome Adrian Walsh, a defining voice in UK road safety for decades leading initiatives that have transformed how transport safety is understood and delivered. As director of Road Safe and founder of the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards, Adrian has championed collaboration, innovation and evidence led change. This conversation allows a chance to reflect on his remarkable journey, and in particular, his contributions to the safe system and the future of road safety. Adrian's leadership has inspired generations of professionals committed to saving lives and building safer transport networks worldwide.

James Luckhurst sits down with Sarah Vaughan, lead researcher at Angelica Solutions, to explore one of the fastest-changing areas in urban mobility: the rise of E-bikes, and what their growth means for safety, behaviour, policy, and the wider Safe System.

Sarah, who has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, returns to the podcast with insights from her latest white paper, which analyses e-bike usage, risks, and opportunities. Her work blends hard data, roadside observation, and industry expertise to help policymakers, insurers, and transport professionals understand how this emerging mode fits into the vision of sustainable, safe transport.

• Why E-bikes matter - the huge potential for active travel, reduced congestion, and greener cities.
• Where the risks are growing- including lack of helmet use (just 19% of riders observed), red-light jumping (54% of E-bike riders), and the rise of unregistered or illegally modified bikes.
• The data challenge - how the absence of E-bike identifiers in Stats19 hampers meaningful analysis and makes collisions hard to track.
• Delivery riders and new behaviours - what happens when a rapidly expanding workforce has no licensing, training, or traceability.
• Infrastructure frustrations - why human behaviour at junctions can’t be fixed by enforcement alone, and what Scandinavian examples can teach us
• Insurance concerns - the gap in protection for pedestrians and riders when most bikes aren’t insured and collisions go unrecorded.
• Policy questions - whether registration, speed compliance, or clearer rules are needed before adoption outpaces safety frameworks.
• Simple, practical steps - from promoting helmet use and alcohol awareness to encouraging mutual respect between all road users.

Sarah also talks us through her personal journey from cautious observer to regular E-bike rider, and how those lived experiences sharpened her interest in understanding the true risks and rewards of E-bikes today.

Welcome to the Project EDWARD Podcast, where we explore data-driven actions for safe mobility.

Join the EDWARD team and our key partners as we facilitate events, symposiums, webinars, discussions, and podcast episodes. Our mission is to share evidence-led good practices that support the Safe System. Tune in to stay informed and inspired by the latest in road safety and mobility innovations.

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James Luckhurst sits down with Tom Duckham, Chief Executive of Redspeed International, for a conversation about technology, enforcement, career journeys, and what it really takes to make a lasting difference in road safety.

Tom’s road into the industry was anything but conventional. As he puts it, a youth spent as a motorcycle dispatch rider meant he “saw things… that I wish I could unsee now”, experiences that quietly planted the seed for a lifelong commitment to reducing death and injury on the roads.

From his early days installing London’s first speed cameras in the early 1990s, through the era of camera partnerships, media battles, and evolving public attitudes, Tom talks openly about the challenges and misconceptions surrounding enforcement.

Throughout, Tom stresses the importance of partnership over product, summed up in Redspeed’s new strapline: “Safer Roads, Smarter Solutions, Protecting Communities.”

Find out more about Project EDWARD here.

Welcome to the Project EDWARD Podcast, where we explore data-driven actions for safe mobility.

Join the EDWARD team and our key partners as we facilitate events, symposiums, webinars, discussions, and podcast episodes. Our mission is to share evidence-led good practices that support the Safe System. Tune in to stay informed and inspired by the latest in road safety and mobility innovations.

Follow us on:

Facebook

LinkedIn

Instagram