Tongji University organized the “6th International Symposium on Transportation Safety” & “7th Sino-German Symposium on Road Traffic Safety”, which took place with great success on 11-13 May 2018, in Jiading Campus, Tongji University. The symposium focused this year on the “Traffic Safety Research and Improvement under the Scenarios of Rapid Reforming Transportation System”. Its aim is to identify the key aspects of safety improvements, enhance the knowledge of international safety improvement countermeasures, and strengthen the crash data analysis, roadway infrastructure safety design and multi-disciplinary research in China.
NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:
European Commission (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) released a very interesting guide containing good practices for managing work related vehicle risks in the EU, with a specific focus on workplace transport, driving for work and working on or near a road. With this interactive e-guide many good practices are provided as well as an overview of relevant regulations and information in three key aspects of vehicle risks: safe driving for work, workplace transport safety, and working on or near a road. 
The Nordic Traffic Safety Academy (NTSA) organised the 7th Annual Scientific Seminar of the Nordic Traffic Safety Academy which took place with great success in Trondheim, on 7-8 May 2018. NTSA is a Nordic forum where academics meet to exchange information and experience in research and education. The aims of the NTSA are to promote scientific discussion within the road traffic safety society on a multidisciplinary base and to enhance the scientific aspect and status of road traffic safety as an academic discipline”. NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:
The International Road Traffic and Accident Group (IRTAD) of the International Transport Forum (ITF/OECD) published recently a new Report: “Safer Roads with Automated Vehicles?”. This report examines how increasing automation of cars and trucks could affect road safety, and which security vulnerabilities will need to be addressed with the rise of self-driving vehicles. It introduces the principles of Safe System approach and the relevance of Vision Zero for road safety to the wider discussion on vehicle automation. 
The International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD) of the International Transport Forum (ITF/OECD) published the full version of the Road Safety Annual Report 2018, which provides a detailed insight of road safety performance for 28 countries. The Annual Report outlines the most recent road safety developments across IRTAD countries and provides comparative data for the main road safety indicators also detailed by road user, age group and type of road. Furthermore, the IRTAD Annual Report contains syntheses of the the road safety strategies and targets in place as well on recent trends in speeding, drink-driving and other aspects of road user behaviour.
The European Commission’s Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG Move) has released the well expected and breakthrough EU integrated policy for the future of road safety within its new set of actions to modernise Europe’s transport systems with the agenda for safe, clean and connected mobility“. This integrated policy comes together with the revision of road infrastructure safety management directive (with the active contribution of NTUA) and the proposal for a regulation on type-approval requirements for motor vehicles and the communication on the road to automated mobility. The full list of proposals, together with the respective fact sheets and supporting documents is available:
The International Transport Forum‘s 2018 Summit on “Transport Safety and Security” took place with great success on 23 – 25 May 2018 in Leipzig, Germany, with the participation of more than 1.500 key road safety officials, stakeholders and experts. The 2018 edition of this vibrant global conference addressed strategic and topical transport safety issues, including: Cycling, Pedestrians, Urban Space and Health, Planning and Design, Road Infrastructure Safety Management, Measures Assessment, Zero Road Deaths and Serious Injuries, Safe Travel for Women. In parallel, the ITF, together with ECTRI, ERTRAC, FERSI, TRB and WCTRS, organised the “Transport Safety and Security” Research Day. A new Ministerial Declaration on Transport Safety and Security was agreed by the ITF Member States. NTUA Professor George Yannis made a key presentation:
A paper titled “How many crashes are caused by driver interaction with passengers? A meta-analysis approach” authored by Athanasios Theofilatos, Apostolos Ziakopoulos, Eleonora Papadimitriou, and George Yannis is now published in Journal of Safety Research. Conversation and other interactions with passengers while driving induce a level of distraction to the person driving. This paper conducts a qualitative literature review on the effect of passenger interaction on road safety and then extends it by using meta-analysis techniques. The findings of the random-effects meta-analyses that were carried out showed that driver interaction with passengers causes a non-negligible proportion of road crashes, namely 3,5% of crashes regardless of the age of the passengers and 3.8% when child and teen passengers are excluded. 
The Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) has issued a comprehensive set of statistics on Casualty Road Accidents in Greece for 2016, comprising time-series for the decade 2007-2016. In 2016, 11.318 road accidents with fatalities or serious injuries occurred in Greece, recording a decrease of 1.1% in comparison with 2015 and ending an impressive road fatalities drop during the economic crisis of almost 50%. During the last five years, road fatalities in Greece have decreased by 29% (since 2011), however injury road accidents decreased only by 17%. The rate fatalities per number of vehicles has decreased by 30% since 2011.
The Hellenic Neuropsychological Society (HNPS) organized the 1st Panhellenic Conference on Neuropsychology, which took place with great success in Athens on 27-29 April 2018. The Conference included keynote talks, round tables, oral announcements and training through participation in seminars and workshops. Special focus was given to the interaction between traffic behaviour, road safety and neuropsychology. NTUA actively contributed with six (6) presentations:
Driver Behavior and Road Accidents- Evaluation of intentional and incidental memory of Parkinson’s Disease patients
- MCI Patients’ self-awareness of driving performance
- The pedestrian behavior of Alzheimer and MCI Patients and its relation to neuropsychological parameters
- Can brief neuropsyhological tests predict the driving behavior of patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD)?
- Driver Behavior of A-HNE Disease and mild Alzheimer Disease (NA) patients, vectors of Apolipoprotein E4 allele
A Regional Workshop on Road Safety Data organized by the EuroMed Transport Support Project, took place with great success on 8-10 May 2018 in Athens. This Workshop allowed sharing national, European and international experiences and best practices in the Mediterranean Region with road safety data and suggested a road map for the follow up actions. NTUA actively contributed with five (5) presentations:
- The SaferAfrica Project
- Road Accident Statistics: The Greek Experience
- Strengths and weaknesses of road crash data collection in the EuroMed region – Diagnosis
- Understanding and bridging the differences between national reported and WHO estimated road traffic fatalities
- Setting up road safety reliable, harmonized and comparable data collection system and sharing at regional level
The International Road Traffic and Accident Group (IRTAD) of the International Transport Forum (ITF/OECD) published recently a new Report: “Cooperative Mobility Systems and Automated Driving”. Automated vehicles could make roads safer as well as reduce congestion. Whether society will be able to capture these benefits while minimizing negative impacts depends on effective regulation of self-driving vehicles. The technology is still largely experimental and mass use is likely to take decades. This report reviews the range of existing service concepts for automated driving systems and technologies, the operational environments they require and assesses the need for regulatory action.
A new book titled ‘Homo automobilis ou l’humanité routière‘ authored by Dr. Jean-Pascal Assailly, Researcher at the French Institute of Sciences & Technology for Transport (IFSTTAR), is now available. “Homo automobilis”, who are you? That is the question this book answers. Jean-Pascal Assailly analyzes the behavior of the users of the road environment – whether one is a motorist or a pedestrian – which is so different depending on age, sex and culture.
The Dialogue Platform of the EU-funded Horizons 2020 project SaferAfrica met in Athens on 24-27 April 2018 to discuss current and future road safety challenges in Africa. Key road safety experts from the SaferAfrica Consortium, from International Organizations, (UNECA, WHO, ITF-IRTAD, FIA, IRF, IRU, WorldBank/SSATP, AfDB, HI) and from African Countries (Morocco, Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Burkina Faso) contributed vividly into the two discussion topics: a) Road safety data collection in Africa (data collection, standardization, under-reporting, exposure and safety performance indicators), b) Implementation of the African Road Safety Action Plan (progress, recommendations, future perspectives). NTUA’s presentation concerned:
The 28th Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) International Conference was held in Brisbane, Australia from 29 April to 2 May 2018 with great success. Promised to be the largest scale ARRB conference to date, this international event brought together world-renowned experts to discuss the latest innovations and technologies, for maximising the total economic and social benefit of road infrastructure. Themes included: Intelligent Roads, Future of Asset Management, Disruptive Technologies, Platforms & Services, Smart Journeys, Human Factors of Transport.
“The Road to Zero Report” was developed by the Road to Zero Coalition, together with the RAND Corporation, setting a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities in the U.S. by 2050. The report is the first of its kind in the U.S. and identifies proven, life-saving actions for the short, mid, and long-terms that should be taken by federal, state, and local government officials; automakers; technology manufacturers; business leaders; insurance agencies; law enforcement; and safety advocates.
The International Transport Forum (ITF/OECD) published recently a new Report: “Integrating Urban Public Transport Systems and Cycling”. Seamless integration between bus, BRT, light rail, metro and rail systems and walking and cycling is the main challenge in delivering competitive levels of service, in terms of convenience, flexibility, cost as well as safety. ITF Report recommendations suggest that cycling can greatly extend the range of public transport options available to urban travellers. Cycling significantly increases the catchment area of rail stations with bike-share systems greatly facilitating the use of cycling to complete trips on public transport as well as promoting cycling more generally.
The International Road Federation (IRF) is operating the global Transport Knowledge Practice Resource Centre (gTKP) This comprehensive resource centre features the latest, state-of-the-art information on road infrastructure and transport (case studies, research papers, publications, reports, presentations), functioning like an on-line library, with Road Safety being a key component of this knowledge centre. Registered users (free of charge) can exploit interactively the wealth of data and knowledge and also contribute their own knowledge and experience.
The United Nations have recently launched the UN Road Safety Trust Fund, aiming to accelerate progress in improving global road safety by bridging the gaps in the mobilization of resources for effective action at all levels. The Fund is expected to mobilize resources from governments, intergovernmental or non-governmental organizations, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and individuals. UNECE estimates that every $1,500 contributed to the Road Safety Trust Fund could: save one life, prevent ten serious injuries, and leverage $51,000 in road safety investment.
Jean Todt, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, stated that the UN Road Safety Trust Fund has the potential to galvanize our global efforts to address the road safety situation, building on the progress made and experience gained over the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
A new fines scheme for traffic infringements has been recently introduced in the Greek Road Code (Law 4530/2018). More precisely, three categories of fines are set, based on the safety importance of the respective infringements: low (0-300€), medium (301€ – 600€) and high (>600€) risk. Furthermore, fines income criteria are introduced, according which offenders with an annual income between 50.001€ – 100.000€ are subject to double fines, while offenders with an annual income above 100.000€ are subject to triple fines. Finally, offenders that commit three times in the last 5 years a high-risk infringement lose their license in life.
The European Commission’s Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG Move) published the EU good practice guide: Safer roads for all. It includes Road Safety Statistics in EU, and good practices in EU countries with different safety performance levels. The EU success story is the result of many contributing factors: making road safety a political priority; broad cooperation across borders for a true European road safety area; adoption of the ‘safe system’ approach and the ‘vision zero’ perspective; target setting, data collection and continuous monitoring of results; and dedicated actions ranging from education and awareness campaigns to legislative action and safety focused technical vehicle regulations.
