Dr. Robert Tunbridge

We are sad to report the death of our colleague Dr Robert Tunbridge at the end of July. Rob worked at TRL for many years on and off over 4 decades. TRL sends our immense gratitude for his work, and we very fondly remember a life well lived and his lively participation in our mission to make transport safer and better.

Looking at his published work it is fascinating to see the range of subjects he contributed to. But in honouring his life we wish particularly to remember and recognise the impact of his contribution with regard to the many thousands of lives saved and injuries prevented as a direct result of his work.

Rob made his name and reputation as a driving force (at an international level) behind our understanding of the incidence and characteristics of collisions where drugs and alcohol are primary causes. His work directly influenced the UK’s drink and drug driving legislation and continues to be used across the world where drug and alcohol driving are increasingly targeted as part of the UN’s Decade of Action for Road Safety 2020-30. There remains a pressing need for further research and interventions associated with the challenges of addiction, and the role of rehabilitation schemes for convicted drink-drivers.

Rob also produced some interesting work on injury patterns (epidemiology), including disability by collision types. He was one of the first accidentology scientists to link different road collision data sets, which today we would describe as Big Data. Specifically, Rob and the TRL team correlated police (STATS19), hospital (HES records) and coroners’ data and used the findings to inform future road casualty reduction programmes. In the late 1990s over 3,500 people died annually on Britain’s roads. TRL’s Academy Director Richard Cuerden recalls how Rob somewhat controversially published early work using TARN (Trauma Audit Research Network) data, because Rob believed that the findings were so important he wanted to ensure the government of the day were fully informed.

Mobility as a Service is commonly presented as a ‘new concept’ to mitigate congestion, reduce the negative environmental consequences of transport, improve safety, and provide greater accessibility for everyone. It is therefore fun to remind ourselves that Rob, and others at TRL, conducted excellent work in the 1970s and 80s studying on-demand activated bus services and car sharing schemes. The originality and quality of this work is notable, and after 40 years it is still referenced. When these pioneering studies were underway, the political and social climate centred on individual transport solutions and indeed aspirational car ownership with the associated economic models. Margaret Thatcher famously said that anyone on a bus over the age of 25 is a failure. So, if we are tempted to complain about how hard it is to promote safe active travel, shared mobility, and public transport, we should instead express our gratitude to Rob and the many other likeminded researchers who helped to ensure intelligent connected transport systems are mainstream public policy. There is much still to do and not much time to do it in as we face the decarbonisation challenge, but as with all progress, it is all based on many small steps.

“Rob always had a spark” said Richard Cuerden. “He was principled, and prepared to speak his mind. He was recognised for his conviction and integrity”.

After university, Rob worked for 21 years at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). He then went to the Dept for Transport 1991-1998 as Research Programme Manager in the Road Safety Division where he was responsible for the research programme into drink driving, drug driving and driver fatigue. His work at the DfT was instrumental in setting the drink-driving alcohol limit for drivers which remains in force today. He returned to TRL as Head of Impairment Studies until 2004. Rob was working as an independent consultant specialising in driver impairment until his death in July 2022.

• The optimisation of public transport in small towns – Martin, PH,Tunbridge, RJ, – 1977
• The preliminary design of many-to-few Dial-A-Bus services – Tunbridge, RJ,Mitchell, CGB – 1977
• Comparative assessment of demand responsive and fixed route bus services – Tunbridge, RJ,Hale, DMJ – 1978
• A comparison of optimal minibus, dial-a-bus and conventional bus services – Tunbridge, RJ – 1980
• The economics of stage carriage operation by private bus and coach companies – Tunbridge, RJ,Jackson, RL – 1980
• Works bus services to two industrial estates in Northampton – Tunbridge, RJ – 1981
• The journey to work: A study of drive-alone/car-pool choice – Tunbridge, RJ,Jackson, RL – 1983
• Long term disability following road traffic accidents – Galasko, CSB,Murray, P,Hodson, M,Tunbridge, RJ,Everest, JT – 1986
• The use of linked transport-health road casualty data – Tunbridge, RJ – 1987
• An in-depth study of road accident casualties and their injury patterns – Tunbridge, RJ,Everest, JT,Wild, BR,Johnstone, RA – 1988
• The incidence of drugs in road accident fatalities – Everest, JT,Tunbridge, RJ,Widdop, B – 1989
• The long term effect of seat belt legislation on road user injury patterns – Tunbridge, RJ – 1989
• The cost of long-term disability resulting from road traffic accidents: Interim report – Tunbridge, RJ,Murray, PA,Kinsella, AM,Galasko, CSB – 1990
• Linkage of STATS19 and Scottish hospital in-patient data - analyses for 1980-1995 – Keigan, M,Broughton, J,Tunbridge, RJ – 1999
• The High Risk Offender Scheme for drink-drivers – Davies, GP,Broughton, J,Clayton, A,Tunbridge, RJ – 1999
• The influence of cannabis on driving – Sexton, BF,Tunbridge, RJ,Brook-carter, N,Jackson, PG,Wright, K,Stark, MM,Englehart, K – 2000
• Recognising drug use and drug related impairment in drivers at the roadside – Tunbridge, RJ,Keigan, M,James, FJ – 2000
• The incidence of drugs and alcohol in road accident fatalities – Tunbridge, RJ,Keigan, M,James, FJ – 2001
• An analysis of police reports of fatal accidents involving motorcycles – Lynam, D,Broughton, J,Minton, R,Tunbridge, RJ – 2001
• The influence of cannabis and alcohol on driving – Sexton, B,Tunbridge, RJ,Board, A,Jackson, PG,Wright, K,Stark, MM,Englehart, K – 2002
• The incidence of alcohol in fatally injured adult pedestrians – Keigan, M,Tunbridge, R,Jackson, P(ED) – 2003