The World Health Organization (WHO) released the Road Safety Country Profiles 2015. In these Country Profiles, summary road safety data and information is provided for each of the 182 WHO countries, concering the institutional framework, the safer roads and mobility, the safer vehicles, the safer road users, the basic road safety data and the post-crash care.  

A report on Prioritising the Safety Potential of Automated Driving in Europe is now released by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). Automated driving technologies are already preventing collisions and deaths on our roads. The purpose of the report is to give an overview of automated driving, identify the main safety benefits and offer some key recommendations for the near future for the EU and its Member States to create a regulatory environment that prioritises safety. 

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which represents the strongest ever commitment on road safety made by UN Member States. It invites Member States that have not already done so to consider adopting policies and measures to implement United Nations vehicle safety regulations or equivalent national standards to ensure that all new motor vehicles, meet applicable minimum regulations for occupant and other road users protection, with seat belts, air bags and active safety systems fitted as standard. The resolution builds upon the ‘Brasilia Declaration’ passed by the 2nd Global High Level Conference on Road Safety held on 18th -19th November 2015 in Brasilia and endorses the standard fitment of active safety systems which are the primary focus of the Stop the Crash Partnership.  

The European Commission – DG MOVE has recently released a Report titled ‘Risks and countermeasures for road traffic of elderly in Europe’ prepared with the active contribution of IMOB, NTUA, LAB and ERF. The purpose of this Report was to provide a comprehensive view on the situation of elderly road users in traffic and to provide an action plan containing recommendations for the most promising measures to be taken at the EU-level in the light of developing a proactive strategy to enhance the road safety of the elderly in the (near) future. This strategy is developed by assessing the main trends and road safety risks for all older road user groups and providing an overview and analysis of various countermeasures, including ITS, aimed at increasing road safety for all older road user groups. 

A workshop focusing on Accidentology and Simulators organised by Safe2Wheelers took place with great success on 27 April, 2016, in Würzburg, Germany. Safe2Wheelers COST TU1407 Research Action aims at improving Power Two Wheelers (PTW) safety with a holistic and integrated approach by acquiring, unifying and coordinating PTW safety research and ensuring broad dissemination towards PTW users, industry and public authorities. During the workshop, an overview of best practices and results from PTW accident investigationsand different existing motorcycle simulators was demonstrated and different technical solutions as well as potential use cases were discussed. The workshop was well attended by the industry and other researchers which discussed the latest scientific findings in the field of PTW safety. 

SafetyCube is a research project funded by the European Commissionunder the Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, in the domain of Road Safety. The project started on May 1st, 2015 and will run for a period of three years with primary objective todevelop an innovative road safety Decision Support System (DSS) that will enable policy-makers and stakeholders to select and implement the most appropriate strategies, measures and cost-effective approaches to reduce casualties of all road user types and all severities in Europe and worldwide. NTUA is actively contributing to all phases of the SafetyCube project.  The latest SafetyCube newsletter with the latest project developments is now available.  

A workshop on ‘Driving Instructors and Safe Driving: The primary sector of road safety‘ organised by the Pan-hellenic Federation of Driving Instructors within the framework of Athens Money Show 2016, took place with great success on April 23rd, 2016, in Athens. Several presentations and discussions highlighted the key current road safety challenges in Greece, whereas driving instructors delivered safe and eco-driving seminars to visitors of Athens Money Show 2016 with the support of car and motorcycle driving simulators. 

NTUA presentation concerned: Road accident charasteristics and countermeasures. 

During the European Transport Research Arena Conference 2016, that took place in Warsaw from 18 to 21 April 2016, NTUA has contributed a series of road safety presentations with key results from the various national and international road safety research activities that is involved:

  An Exploration of Road Safety Parameters in Belarus and the European Union (BeSafe)

  Pedestrian Risk Taking while Road Crossing: A Comparison of Observed and Declared Behaviour (PedMod)

  Innovative Insurance Schemes: Pay As/How You Driver (PhD)

  Predicting Road Accidents: a Rare-Events Modeling Approach (PhD)

  Use of Accident Prediction Models in Road Safety Management – An International Inquiry(PRACT)

  Development of a Transnational Accident Prediction Model (PRACT)

  Management of Road Infrastructure Safety (IRTAD)

  Road Safety Investments and Interventions in South East Europe (ROSEE)

  Investigating the Effect of Area Type and Traffic Conditions on Distracted Driving Performance(Distract)

  Which are the Critical Measures to Assess the Driving Performance of Drivers With Brain Pathologies? (DriverBrain)

  How Safe Are Cyclists on European Roads? (ERSO+)

  Characteristics and Causes of HGV and Buses Accidents in Europe (ERSO+)

Socioeconomic status and traffic safety of pre-school children: a study in Athens (PhD)

The 6th Edition of the Transport Research Arena 2016 (TRA 2016) took place with great success in Warsaw, Poland from 18 to 21 April 2016. TRA is the major European Conference on Transport Research, supported by the European Commission (EC), the Conference of European Road Directors (CEDR) and the four European Technology Platforms on surface transport: the European Road Transport Research Advisory Council (ERTRAC), the European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC), WATERBORNE TP, and the Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration (ALICE). TRA 2016 Conference contributed to innovation in sustainable mobility for Europe, with the active participation of more than 2.200 participants from more than 50 countries. The main theme of TRA 2016 was – MOVING FORWARD Innovative Solutions for Tomorrow’s Mobility. TRA 2016 seeked to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the transport sector and, for this reason, addressed all stakeholders in both the public and private sectors and all professionals, regardless of their roles (researchers, practitioners, designers, constructors, operators, administrators, policy makers etc.).  Several road safety sessions and discussions were among the key activities of the TRA 2016 Conference.  

The MSc programme ‘Traffic Psychology and Sustained Mobility‘will start running on 1 September 2016, by the University of Groningen. The programme is based on differenct disciplines covering the broad theme of mobility and offer courses that examine social perspectives that consider how a decline in the ability to process information affects mobility and that focus on the clinical effects of ageing (e.g. dementia). Road Safety in the modern mobility framework is a key issue addressed by this MSc Programme.  

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution seeking to establish a road safety trust fund, Aimed at Halving Global Number of Traffic Deaths and Injuries. Acting without a vote, the Assembly adopted a draft resolution titled “Improving global road safety” (document A/70/L.44), expressing concern that road traffic crashes killed more than 1.25 million people and injured as many as 50 million people a year.  It invited Member States and the international community to step up collaboration to meet target 3.6, and encouraged the upcoming United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development to consider road safety and safe, affordable public transport. Jean Todt, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Road Safety, stated that the Road Safety Trust Fund is a priority, taking into account that the cost of road accidents and their consequences is estimated to around $500 billion a year.  

A paper titled ‘Towards an integrated approach of pedestrian behaviour and exposure’ authored by Eleonora Papadimitriou is now published in Accident Analysis & Prevention. An integrated methodology for the analysis of pedestrian behaviour and exposure is proposed. The paper builds on existing research on pedestrian exposure, namely the Routledge microscopic indicator, and uses integrated choice and latent variables (ICLV) models of pedestrian behaviour, taking into account road, traffic and human factors. The method is tested with data from a field survey in Athens, Greece, which used pedestrian behaviour observations as well as a questionnaire on human factors of pedestrian behaviour. The results suggest that both pedestrian behaviour and exposure are largely defined by a small number of factors: road type, traffic volume and pedestrian risk-taking. The probability for risk-taking behaviour and the related exposure decrease in less demanding road and traffic environments. A synthesis of the results reveals conditions of increased risk exposure: principal urban arterials (where risk-taking behaviour is low but the related exposure is very high) and minor arterials (where risk-taking behaviour is more frequent, and the related exposure is still high). A “paradox” of increased risk-taking behaviour of pedestrians with low exposure is found, suggesting that these pedestrians may compensate in moderate traffic conditions due to their increased walking speed. 

A dedicated Symposium on Older drivers is organised to take place on 3 August 2016, during the Sixth International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology (ICTTP2016) in Brisbane, Australia. This symposium will address current issues in older driver safe mobility and will present the results of significant research undertaken across two continents. Using the experiences learned from naturalistic driving studies, the participants will become aware of what is known about the driving patterns of older adults.