Dr Maria de Fátima Pereira da Silva
Born in the charming town of Alcobaça, Portugal, a place steeped in passion and history, Fátima Pereira da Silva has devoted over three decades of her life to the cause of road safety. Her journey is not just a career but a profound commitment fueled by a passion for her work, the community, and the lives she strives to save.
From her early years, Fátima was attuned to the pulse of Alcobaça - the rhythm of its cobbled streets, the echoes of the ancient walls, and the resonance of past generations. However, her curiosity about human behaviour led her on a distinct path. Equipped with a psychology degree, she embarked on a journey to decipher the complex interplay between people, vehicles, and roads.
Fátima's expertise in organisational psychology and traffic psychology became her guiding light. Her work took on a deeper significance when she confronted the heartache of numerous shattered families worldwide, mourning the loss of their loved ones on the roads. Fátima didn't just analyze data; she absorbed stories—the triumphs and tragedies etched into each family's heart, fortifying her life's mission.
Fátima's work harmonised with emerging road safety technologies, focusing on preventing and raising awareness of drunk and drug driving.
Fatima's vision for the T2025 Conference is clear—T2025 will need to have a direct and tangible impact on road safety worldwide, aiming to save lives and shape policies, paving the way for a safer and more secure future.
A few notes on Fátima's career path.
Over the years, Fátima has invested in a unique path as an expert, consultant, speaker, chair and co-chair at various congresses worldwide in human factors and road safety. She has published various articles and has been a reviewer for different international journals. Strengthening partnerships, sharing knowledge, applying new methodologies and technologies and using different forms of intervention in national and international organisations in human factors and road safety, sustainability, quality, well-being, happiness, and the safety of people and organisations in mobility contexts are her life's work.
Fátima is an accomplished traffic psychologist with a degree in public management for road safety from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and Pons Seguridad Vial, Madrid. She has pursued Advanced Doctoral Studies at the University of Coimbra, focusing on road safety strategies.
As a senior international consultant, her strong collaboration with the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety ACTS (USA) in disseminating the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Program (DADSS) stands out.
As a professor, Fátima has been part of the Polytechnic University of Coimbra’s School of Education (Portugal) since 2000. She holds board positions in ICADTS (2018-2024), the European Workplace Drugs Testing Society (EWDTS, 2015 to date), and the Commercial, Industrial, and Services Association of Alcobaça and Leiria Region (ACSIA)-Portugal.
She is the CEO of InOutcister, Lda, and the president of the non-profit World Association for Connecting People (WACP). Her memberships include Traffic Psychology International (TPI), ICTCT, the International Association of Road Safety Professionals (AIPSEV), and the Blue Lily Movement, where she is part of the Executive Board of the “MLA Lirios of the Asphalt” project.
Fátima’s influence extends to her role as President of WACP, where she engages with international road safety organisations like the International Road Victims Partnership (IRVP) and the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety.
She collaborated on the guidelines for Traffic Psychologists in Portugal and contributed to standardising driver psychological assessments in cooperation with the Association of Portuguese Psychologists.
She is also an effective member of the Technical Committee for Standardization CT 148: Transport - Logistics and Service and Subcommittee SC 003 (Road safety in public passenger and freight transport) and was a member of the ad hoc Technical Committee, CTA 37 - "Road safety management in organisations" for the adaptation of the ISO 39001: 2012 standard.
Among many conferences around the world, she was invited to speak at the UN in Geneva at the Global Road Safety Forum (WP.1) at the 85th, 86th, and 88th sessions. She addressed issues related to the effect of drugs and alcohol on mobility and road safety and gave examples of good practice at the international level.
She provided a voice-over for the UN World Day of Remembrance for Road Victims video (in Portuguese). Fátima collaborated with IRVP in translating the document” Writing a Guide for Families Bereaved by Road Crashes, into Portuguese.
In February 2022, she was an expert invited by the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Road Safety (ICADTS) to review the final version of the WHO report "Understanding the Problem of Drug-Driving as a Risk Factor for Road Traffic Injuries and Deaths and Identifying Interventions and Good Practices to Address the Issue in the Eastern Mediterranean region based on Global Experiences."
She was a member of the Global Selection Committee, collaborating with the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety - a process for young people worldwide to apply for funding/support to develop local awareness-raising actions for 2023.
In recognition of her efforts, Fátima has received:
Entrepreneurship: Recognition award from the International Association of Women Entrepreneurs Europe/Africa (02/2019); Citizenship Award: Recognized by Alcoa newspaper at the Golden Gala (April/2019); Prize for Excellence in Good Road Safety Practices: one of the four prizes awarded by the European Commission and the European Road Safety Charter (ETSC), with the "Don't Drink and Drive" project, as Director, Project Manager and Mentor and representing the "InOutCister, Lda"; Silver award (2nd place) at the "Safety- ISMA Awards" world congress in Australia, 2020; AIPSEV "My example educates" award (Madrid, 2023); Woman Leader in Road Safety by Laser International (2023, 2022 and 2021)