NTUA Professor George Yannis has contributed actively at the ITF 2023 Summit held in Leipzig, Germany, on 24-26 May 2023, on key discussions on the design of safe and equitable future transport systems for all. In his presentation on Social Cost–Benefit Analysis of Key Urban Mobility Policies in Athens demonstrated the high usefulness of the social Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) for the promotion of key urban mobility and safety policies, including comprehensive appraisal of externalities (impact on safety, environment, congestion, etc.). The policies investigated concerned City-wide Speed Limit 30km/h, Congestion Charging Schemes, Ridesharing Services and Telematics Insurance Schemes, which were proved highly beneficial for the society welfare.  

The International Alcohol Interlock Symposium,  organised by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), will be held on 17-19 September 2023, in Oslo, Norway under the theme “Technology saving lives”. Since 2000, the Alcohol Interlock Symposium global forum has hosted leading experts to discuss ongoing research and development regarding alcohol and drug impaired driving, interlock programs, and road traffic safety. This year,  international policy makers, criminal justice and health professionals, licensing authorities, researches, government officials, innovators, and industry representatives will be part of a three day exploration of new ideas and innovative technological developments in the expanding field of alcohol interlocks. 

Τhe European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published the 44th PIN Flash Report titled Reducing Road Deaths among Powered Two Wheeler Users. This Report examines the latest data on PTW user road deaths from across the EU and other countries that form part of ETSC’s Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme. It also looks at the at the main measures for reducing the risks to PTW users including training, licensing, infrastructure, technical inspections, the use of protective equipment and new technologies.  

The Horizon 2020 project i-DREAMS (smart Driver Environment Assesment and Monitoring System) is organising its Final Event which will be held in Brussels, on 26 April 2023. The i-DREAMS Final Event will be a full day programme (10:00h-16:00h) that will combine speeches, the main accomplishments of the project and discussion on future challenges for human factors and safety in transport. Several focused presentations on key results achieved will be also provided.  

An NTUA Diploma Thesis called “Analysis of the acceptance and cost benefit analysis of reducing the speed limit to 80 km/h on the interurban road network in Greece” was recently presented by Stylianos Peithis. For the purpose of this Diploma Thesis,  a special questionnaire was developed and answered by 408 travellers, from different parts of Greece, based on the stated preference method for 10 hypothetical scenarios with variations of the variables travel time, fuel consumption and probability of road accident with serious injury. The analysis calculated the investment costs and the impacts on traffic, road safety and the environment expressed in monetary units and showed that the reduction of the speed limit to 80 km/h on the interurban road network in Greece is considered to be economically very positive for society, with a positive economic Net Present Value (ENPV=€170.7 million) and a high ERR (ERR=39.1%).   

An NTUA Diploma Thesis called “Investigating the influence of mobile phone use on driving behavior with Machine Learning analysis of imbalanced data” was recently presented by Konstantinos-Eirinaios Kaselouris. For classification and regression of mobile phone usage, telematics data from the OSeven telematics company, collected from naturalistic measurements, were used. Mobile phone use was defined as an indicator of risky behaviour and classification was performed on two levels of driving behaviour (risky and not risky). Variables related to travel speed were found to be the most significant independent variables, while according to the classification evaluation metrics, the most appropriate model was considered to be that of ‘Linear Discriminant Analysis’.  

An NTUA Diploma Thesis called “Analysis of seatbelt and helmet use characteristics in Greece” was recently presented by Nikolaos Lagonikakos. For the purpose of this Diploma Thesis, data were collected from field observations during November-December 2021 in Greece and are related to seatbelt and helmet use, driver’s age and gender, the type of vehicle, the weather conditions, the time period and the road type in three areas (Athens, Thessaloniki and Larisa). Regarding the statistical models of seatbelt and helmet use by drivers, the results demonstrated that female drivers are more likely to use their seatbelt compared to male drivers. With regard to age, middle-aged and elderly drivers present lower probabilities of using a seatbelt while driving, compared to young drivers. Moreover, in adverse weather conditions the probability of using a helmet is lower in comparison with good weather conditions.  

The 35th International Cooperation on Theories and Concepts in Traffic safety Conference (ICTCT) will be held in Catania, Italy, on 26-27 October 2023 under the theme “Challenges and actual opportunities offered by new technologies to improve traffic safety”. The conference is organized in close co-operation with the University of Catania, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Submission deadline is 30 April.   

The Horizon 2020 project MEDIATOR is organising its Final Event which will be held in Hague, on 13 April 2023. The MEDIATOR Final Event will be a full day programme (10h-18h) that will combine speeches, discussion with perspectives from industry and policy and discussion of main scientific contribution and next steps. Registration is open until 31 March. 

FERSI expresses its concern that European road safety research is no longer delivering what it ought to, impeding the improvements needed to achieve the European ambitious road safety targets. This position paper details how the structure of road safety research funding in Europe impacts the potential progress that can be made in European road safety and provides some suggestions for solutions.  

The Eighth Global Meeting of Non-Governmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims will take place in El Salvador and online on 6-10 March 2023, co-hosted by the Vice-Ministry of Transport of El Salvador and WHO. It will be a hybrid event, enabling wider participation of NGOs and other stakeholders. The Global Meeting will feature capacity building opportunities, inspiration from well-known safe mobility and sustainability experts, a high-level symposium with key influencers from government, multilateral organizations, private sector, and academia, as well as extensive networking opportunities. 

The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, has presented proposals to modernise driving licence rules, including the introduction of a digital driving licence valid throughout the EU and new provisions to facilitate the enforcement of traffic rules across borders. More than 20,000 lives were lost on EU roads last year and the majority of victims were pedestrians, cyclists and users of scooters and motorbikes. The new rules will improve safety for all road users,  and will help the EU achieve its Vision Zero – having no deaths on EU roads by 2050.  

The UN Road Safety Collaboration is organising the global campaign for the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week, which will be held on 15-21 May 2023. World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with partners, organizes periodic UN Global Road Safety Weeks. This 7th edition focuses on sustainable transport, in particular the need to shift to walking, cycling and using public transport. Road safety is both a prerequisite for and an outcome of this shift.

The UK Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) is organising the PACTS spring Conference 2023, which will be held online, on 28 March 2023. The main theme of the Conference will be Micromobility, Safety and Sustainability. Speakers from government, industry and user groups will set out the landscape and particularly address safety and sustainability, both which remain key priorities for the Government.

The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for an EU cycling strategy, in an important step for equal treatment and financial support for the healthy and clean mode of transport. The Parliament’s resolution highlights the importance of cycling as a fully-fledged mode of transport that should be treated with the same importance as any other mode of transport. The initiative follows action on the issue by 11 EU countries, including France and Spain, through the “European Cycling Declaration,” which also calls for an EU cycling strategy.  

The International Transport Forum (ITF) has recently published a new Report titled “Shaping Post-Covid Mobility in Cities“. This Report explores how urban mobility changed during the pandemic, focusing on changes in how people work, examining also implications on safety. Based on a review of international best practices, the report provides recommendations for better urban mobility in a post-Covid world.  

Τhe European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) together with the UK Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) recently published a new Report titled “Recommendations on Safety of E-scooters“. The Report is in response to the rapid growth of e-scooter usage over the last five years and an associated increase in deaths and serious injuries. It takes into account a wide body of available data, hospital studies, vehicle safety testing and research from across Europe and beyond. 

The Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue (ICE-SAR) and the European Association for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (EuroSafe) are co-organising the EU-Safety 2023 Conference which will be held in Reykjavik, on 5-6 October 2023. Road Safety with focus on vulnerable road users will be one of the main topics of the conference. Deadline for Abstract submission is 1 April 2023.  

The Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) released recently a new guide titled “How Do Kids Experience Streets? The Reverse Periscope Companion Guide“. GDCI’s Streets for Kids Reverse Periscope is a do-it-yourself tool that encourages planners, city officials, and others to experience the obstacles and attractions of city streets from a child’s perspective. With this guide, anyone could learn how to create Reverse Periscope, what to look for when using it, and how to hold a community workshop to help more people experience Streets for Kids. 

The HADRIAN Symposium will be held in Graz, Austria, on 9-10 May 2023, under the theme “Shaping automated driving for human mobility needs”. The Horizon 2020 project HADRIAN  (Holistic Approach for Driver Role Integration and Automation Allocation for European Mobility Needs) has evaluated a holistic approach to shape automated driving to meet societal mobility needs Over the last three years, the HADRIAN consortium has investigated innovations within this scope and tested and demonstrated them in driving simulators and in real vehicles on test tracks and open roads. At this symposium the project highlights will be presented, hands-on demonstrators will be displayed, and information booths and two workshops will allow the symposium attendants to directly interact with the researchers and engineers about their innovations to initiate collaboration and prepare next steps.  

The Hellenic Association for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS Hellas) in co-operation with the University of Patras, Department of Civil Engineering and TSS-Transport Simulation Systems: Aimsun & Aimsun Online, are organising the International Conference ITS2023, which will take place in Patras on 2-3 November 2023. This Conference will be held under the theme “Intelligent Systems and Consciousness Society”. Abstracts can be submitted by 31 March 2023.  

The European Commission published preliminary figures on Road safety in the EU, showing that around 20,600 people were killed in road crashes last year, a 3% increase in 2021 as traffic levels recovered after the pandemic. This represents however 2,000 fewer fatalities (-10%) compared with the pre-pandemic year 2019. EU-wide, road deaths in 2022 rose by 3% on the previous year, not least as traffic levels recovered levels following the pandemic. Compared with 2019, the number of deaths in 2022 fell by 10%. 

iRAP with the suport of FIA Foundation and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has created the iRAP Safety insights Explorer, which can shine a light on the true scale road crashes, the safety of the world’s roads, and the positive impact that can be made with investment. With the iRAP Safety Insights Explorer you can explore: Estimates of the numbers and types of injuries that occur for every country by age and sex, star Ratings and key design attributes for more than 502,000km of roads in 84 countries, the business case for investing in safer roads, including the life-saving impact of ensuring that most travel occurs on roads rated 3-stars or better for everyone for every country. 

SWOV Road Safety Research is organising the 11th International Cycling Safety Conference (ICSC2023) which will be held in Hague on 15–17 November 2023, bringing the conference back to the Netherlands after 10 years. The ICSC is a forum for researchers and experts in the field of cycling safety to exchange their knowledge and bring up new research topics and safety solutions. This year’s conference will focus on Safer cycling for a better future! The call for abstracts is open until 5th of May 2023. 

The World Road Association – PIARC recently published a Report titled  “Well-Prepared Projects, A PIARC Collection of Case Studies“. This collection of case studies includes 17 cases from 10 different countries participating in this task force, plus one case dedicated to the use of the SOURCE platform in the preparation of transportation projects. The objective of this collection is to provide a variety of highly relevant examples from the real life. Each case outlines good practices in place in a country with a focus on a particular aspect of the project preparation.

The World Road Association – PIARC recently published a Report titled “Documents Relevant to Road Infrastracture and Transportation Security“. This Literature Review is the first step in the development of a full technical Report on road infrastructure and transport security. The document contains a review of literature on road infrastructure and transport security. The review focuses on the following topics: Legislations and policies, Standards, Studies and researches, PIARC reports, Other reports, Manuals and books, Case studies and best practices, Events and situations. It is also completed with conclusions and recommendations, a glossary and appendices.

The World Road Association – PIARC recently published a Report titled “Good Practices in Maintenance and Traffic Operation of Heavily Trafficked Urban Road Tunnels“. This Report makes amends in detailing the challenges and inherent good practices for maintenance and operation from traffic management, to design and renovation. It was cowritten by a panel of designers, owners, operators, policy makers in the field of tunnels, from around the world taking inspiration from previous PIARC Case Studies.

AMRKS and Temple Academy have co-organised with great success the 9th International Conference “Road Safety Assessment-Challenges and Opportunities” which was held in Prishtina on 25 January 2023. This year’s conference came as a result of fruitful cooperation in several activities for road safety with the Kosovo Insurance Bureau BKS and with other institutions in this field in the country and abroad. It managed to serve as a powerful discussion platform to address the challenges and opportunities related to the road factor, which, along with the other two factors (the human factor and the vehicle factor), constitute the basic triangle of the causes of road accidents.  NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation :

•  The EU Methodology for Network Wide Road Safety Assessment

Are you involved in urban transportation planning? Your voice is valuable for PHOEBE project, which aims to improve road safety prediction tools holistically! Please participate in the PHOEBE’s 20-minute survey that studies the key outputs and analyses supporting transport policy and safety objectives. You are invited to send us your input by 28 February 2023! 

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) organised with great success the 102nd Annual Meeting, which was held on 8-12 January 2023 in Washington DC. The meeting program covered all transportation modes, addressing topics of interest to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. More than 600 workshops and sessions were presented. NTUA actively contributed with the following paper and presentation :

•   A Multi-level Approach to Link Smooth Driving with Safe Driver Behavior