Our achievements
Queen's Anniversary Prize
Loughborough University was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2007.
It is the sixth time the University has captured one of the prestigious awards.
The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes are awarded biennially in recognition of outstanding educational achievement in areas of service and benefit to the nation. The 2007 Prize has been awarded to Loughborough in recognition of its vehicle, road and driver safety research.
Road safety research is conducted within two main areas of the University – the Vehicle Safety Research Centre (VSRC) and the Driver Sleepiness Research Group (DSRG).
Established in 1982 within the Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute (ESRI), the VSRC is the largest crash investigation research group in the world. It conducts research into the causes of accidents and injuries in real world crashes and has made major contributions to European road and vehicle safety. Since its formation the VSRC has conducted over 7,000 in-depth crash investigations and has made important advances in the science of crash analysis.
The DSRG was established in 1993 within the Sleep Research Centre, part of the Department of Human Sciences. It was the first UK research organisation to recognise the real problem of driver sleepiness and bring it to public attention. Its research and application of sleep science has led to widely adopted guidelines for the identification of sleep-related road crashes and to practical countermeasures, including the ‘Tiredness can kill – Take a break’ signs on motorways, changes to the Highway Code, and the setting of legal precedents concerning driver liability.
The University’s research into vehicle safety and driver sleepiness is internationally recognised. Strong emphasis is placed on the development of practical measures to protect road users, and widespread communication to modify driver behaviour and raise awareness. The contributions of the VSRC and DSRG to saving lives and reducing serious injuries are widely acclaimed, and have greatly improved understanding of the causes of crashes and how they can be reduced.
Professor Pete Thomas, head of the Vehicle Safety Research Centre, said: “We are delighted and honoured to have been chosen as the recipient of this prestigious award. It reflects the achievements of all those working in the Centre and clearly demonstrates to others the high quality of the research work undertaken within the field of accident research.”
Professor Jim Horne, head of the Driver Sleepiness Research Group, added: “Reducing road casualties lessens the strain on our Health Services – road safety ought to be as much an issue for health policies as it is for those involving road transport.”
Her Majesty The Queen made the official presentation of the 2007 Prize at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace in February 2008.
Previous Queen's Anniversary Prizes
Loughborough has been outstandingly successful in the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes scheme. Its previous awards were presented:
- For its outstanding and widely-respected work in evaluating and helping develop social policy-related programmes (2005)
- In recognition of the University’s position as the country’s premier institution for sports development, and its world leading role in sports research and education (2002)
- In recognition of the Optical Engineering Group’s pioneering role in developing applications of modern optics and laser technologies to find practical solutions to real-world problems (2000)
- In recognition of the Institute of Development Engineering’s unique service to developing countries, providing and managing sustainable infrastructure (1998)
- For its partnerships with the aerospace industry, particularly Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems (1994)
