CARSP/ACIP 2026 Conference – Call for Abstracts
The call for abstracts is closed.
The 2026 CARSP/ACIP Conference, co-hosted with Parachute, takes place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from June 14-17, 2026. Authors are asked to, where possible, relate their submission to the conference Theme, which is: Connecting Paths: Advancing Road Safety for All.
Description of Theme: Set against Halifax’s scenic waterfront and coastal trails, the conference will focus on the shared challenges and opportunities in designing, managing, and promoting safe mobility across interconnected transportation networks. Discussions will explore how thoughtful design, infrastructure improvements, policy, education, and emerging technologies can work together to reduce injuries and fatalities—whether on busy urban roads, rural highways, or recreational pathways.
Attention Students – we invite you to participate in the student competitions. Student competition submissions will follow the same process as for the general call for abstracts. With the student paper, you first submit your abstract, and if it gets accepted, you later submit your paper. With the student poster, abstracts accepted are automatically invited to present at the conference. Please also note that all student paper submissions will automatically be entered into the general call for abstracts, that way, if you don’t win a student prize, you can still present at the conference. For more information on student competitions, awards, events, bursaries, and the mentorship program, click here!
1) Introduction - Call for Abstracts
The CARSP/ACIP 2026 Call for Abstracts is Now Open. Authors have two stream choices: Policy and Practice OR Research and Evaluation. Abstracts must include the sections outlined in the "Abstract Requirements" below, depending on the stream chosen. Abstracts can be on a wide array of road safety topics and, when possible, should relate to the overall conference theme "Connecting Paths: Advancing Road Safety for All". However, abstracts on other topics will be accepted. In addition to stream choice, authors also have the choice of doing a paper and a presentation OR just a presentation (no paper). Presentation-only authors have two presentation choices: verbal or poster. Those submitting papers must do a verbal presentation. Once submitted, all abstracts are reviewed by three peer reviewers who use a set of criteria to judge the abstract for acceptance. The final decision is based upon reviewers’ feedback, and if needed by the Technical Program committee. After the conference, all papers and slide deck presentations will be available on the CARSP website for download by delegates. The conference proceedings, however, will only include the papers which were presented during the conference.
Awards – starting in 2024, both the Mavis Johnson Traffic Safety Award for best Policy and Practice Stream submission and the Charles H. Miller Award for best Research and Evaluation Stream submission, will be open to those who present but may or may not submit papers. For this reason, we are increasing the word limit to 1000 (from 500) for both abstracts, to provide us with more detail with which to judge them. These awards are delivered during the Networking and Awards Banquet which takes place at the conference. More details on these two awards are available here: Mavis Johnson Traffic Safety Award Charles H. Miller Award.
2) Abstract Requirements
Research and Evaluation Abstracts/Papers
- Background – Why was undertaking this research important; what led to the research being conducted?
- Aims – What were you trying to achieve (i.e., rationale, objectives) or what were the proposed outcomes?
- Methods – How was the research undertaken; what was the process/steps?
- Results – What were your findings?
- Discussion and conclusions – What did you learn from the research; were there any limitations or challenges; what is next for the project/organization?
Policy and Practice Abstracts/Papers
- Context – What was the problem/issue you were addressing? What evidence supports the development of this program or policy?
- Objectives – What were you trying to achieve (i.e., rationale, objectives); what were the proposed outputs (i.e., key deliverables, target group reached).
- Target Group – Who is the program directed at?
- Activity(ies) – Provide a description of the program’s activity(ies), including the nature of the activity(ies) (e.g., legislation, education, enforcement, etc.) and how they were developed and delivered?
- Deliverables
- What outputs came from this work?
- How will this information be applied?
- What lessons were learned?
3) Topics
Abstracts are welcome on any aspect of road safety, including, but not limited to, the topics listed below as well as the conference theme. Please note that the sub-topics are merely examples.
Vehicles and Vehicle Systems
- Collision avoidance
- Collision protection
- Commercial vehicle safety
- Off-road vehicle safety
- Crash investigation and reconstruction
- Automated and Connected Vehicles
Traffic Engineering/Road Design
- Impact of road design
- Traffic operations and traffic control devices
- Intelligent transportation systems
- Speed limit setting/monitoring
Injury Prevention
- Epidemiology of crashes/injuries
- Occupant protection
- Biomechanics of injury crashes
- Automotive medicine
Enforcement/Legal Issues
- Enforcement strategies
- Alcohol and drugs
- Legal aspects of crashes
Safety Initiatives
- Safety promotion programs
- Community and partnership engagement
- Integrated road safety strategies
Policy and Program Development
- Societal costs of crashes
- Application of policies and programs
- Application of legislation/regulations
Road Users/Behavioral Issues
- Epidemiology of crashes or injuries
- Specific road users approaches/research (e.g. pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist)
- Human factors and traffic psychology
4) Important Deadlines
Please note: The inability to meet the following deadlines may preclude the acceptance of your abstract/paper/poster/presentation at the conference and/or its’ inclusion in the conference proceedings.
Full Paper Submissions
The abstract submission deadline has been extended to December 8, 2025
- Notification of acceptance by January 30, 2026
- Manuscripts must be submitted to the speaker portal of Pheedloop by March 6, 2026
- Reviewers' comments to authors by April 14, 2026
- Final papers must be submitted by authors by April 28, 2026
- Slide Deck Presentations must be submitted by June 8, 2026
Slide Deck/Poster Presentation Only Submissions
The abstract submission deadline has been extended to December 8, 2025
- Notification of acceptance by January 30, 2026
- Presentation (slide deck OR document outlining content of poster) must be submitted by June 3, 2026
If you have any questions, or would like further information, please email info@carsp.ca
5) Selection Process and Review Criteria
To be accepted into the conference, abstracts will be evaluated based on a set of criteria. Following this review, the author will be notified whether or not their abstract has been accepted and whether or not the abstract has been reassigned to a different stream. Similar criteria will be used for the review of full papers. Only full papers will be considered for the conference proceedings. Each stream of presentations has a top award. For the Research and Evaluation Stream, only written papers are considered, and the top paper receives the Charles H. Miller Award. For the Policy and Practice Stream, new this year, both papers and slide-deck only presentation abstracts will be considered, and the top abstract receives the Mavis Johnson Traffic Safety Award. For the exact criteria used to judge the abstracts please download this document: Criteria and Review Process_2026_English
6) Resources for Writing Papers and Developing Slide Deck Presentations