The Institute of Communications & Computer Systems (ICCS) together with International Road Federation (IRF) and several other Organizations, organized with great success the International Symposium Navigating the Future of Traffic Management in Athens, Greece on 29 June – 3 July 2025. This Conference focused on four thematic tracks: digitalization in traffic management, sustainable mobility strategies, integrated infrastructure systems, and road safety innovations. These tracks aimed to address the complex challenges of modern traffic management and offer actionable insights for a safer and more efficient transportation future.   NTUA actively contributed with the following papers, posters and presentations:

•   Predicting Pedestrian Violations Using Object Detection and Deep Learning: A Comparative Study of LSTM & GRU Models
•   A Geo-Spatial Analysis of Unsafe Traffic Events and Crash Occurrence at Urban Intersections: Insights from Telematics Data and Machine Learning
•   Hybrid Modelling for Risky Driving Behavior Classification: Insights from Naturalistic Driving Study
•   Preferences of Public Transport Passengers Towards Contactless Bank Card Payments
•   Combining diverse data sources for intersection crash analyses based on incomplete records
•   Training a YOLO-based model for speed limit sign recognition
•  Road Safety Knowledge Exchange in Low and Middle Income Countries

The Secretariat of the African Road Safety Observatory is organizing a Webinar on road safety performance indicators which will take place online, on 14 July 2025. The webinar aims to enhance mutual learning, encourage regional alignment, and stimulate future capacity-building activities related to SPI development and use. This event will bring together national road safety coordinators, members of regional observatories, policymakers, and technical experts to explore the added value of SPIs, the use of appropriate methodologies, and good practices from Africa and other world regions. 

BMW in cooperation with Chip Design Germany organized with great success the 2025 BMW Summer School which took place in Saint-Raphaël, France on 29 June – 4 July 2025. This year’s event focused on the topic of trust and safety in artificial intelligence, a broad field of discussion and growing relevance at the crossroads of technology, psychology, product safety, law, economics, and ethics.  NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:

•   Driver Drowsiness Detection: Physiological Monitoring and Impact of Missing Inter-Beat Intervals

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs announced the first ever UN Decade of Sustainable Transport 2026 – 2035 starting in 2026. The Implementation Plan of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport is expected to serve as a strategic framework to coordinate actions, mobilize resources, and monitor progress towards sustainable transport worldwide. It will be an opportunity to further raise awareness of transport’s crucial role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and to gather and rally new solutions, resources and partnerships to advance sustainable transport globally. 

The World Bank Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) together with SSATP has published the 2025 Status Report on Road Safety in Africa analyzing findings for road safety on the African continent. The 2025 Africa Status Report on Road Safety reveals that, despite having only 3% of the global vehicle fleet, Africa accounts for 24% of global road fatalities with 259,601 deaths annually. This highlights the urgent need for safer pedestrian and cycling facilities to protect vulnerable road users.  

The ETSC Annual Report 2024 , highlights a year of impactful advocacy and cross-border collaboration in the pursuit of safer roads across Europe. From championing 30 km/h urban speed limits and tackling loopholes in EU vehicle safety regulations, to supporting EU Member States through the EU-funded Road Safety Exchange programme, ETSC continues to be a leading voice for road safety in Europe. The report also celebrates milestones such as Finland’s PIN Award for outstanding progress on road safety, the #IWillBeALifesaver campaign, and award-winning educational initiative LEARN!   

The UN Road Safety Fund continues to support low and middle-income countries to do that by providing road safety expertise to close gaps on road safety data, enforcement practices, vehicle safety, legislative frameworks, post-crash care, urban street design, among other topics.  This UNRSF report shares highlights of how collective efforts are saving lives and driving systemic change in road safety. They include:

• Brazil’s creation of a national crash data system to inform risk-based infrastructure and enforcement planning;
• Nepal’s integration of road safety into national policy and first responder training along high-risk corridors;
• Senegal’s Ten-Step Plan to embed safety in infrastructure design and influence development bank investments;
• Colombia’s use of participatory urban design to improve pedestrian safety around schools and in vulnerable communities
• These milestones, made possible with support from the UN Road Safety Fund, mark important progress on the long journey to improve road safety.

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) works with governments and communities to prevent road crashes, deaths and injuries. Since 2007, the initiative has helped implement proven road safety interventions across 22 countries. Currently, the initiative is supporting work in 27 cities and two states across 15 low- and middle-income countries.  Its Resources Hub includes case studies and guidance focusing on five areas:

• Strengthening legislation and Leadership
• Enhancing data collection and surveillance
• Changing road user behavior with media campaigns and enhanced enforcement
• Improving road infrastructure
• Advancing vehicle safety

The Horizon Europe research project metaCCAZE has recently released a new Blog Post authored by George Yannis on the new Greek Road Traffic Code. The new Road Traffic Code introduces city-wide 30 km/h speed limit in all urban streets of one or two directions with a single lane per direction, making Greece the second EU country after Spain to implement such a measure. It is also rationalising and simplifying penalties and linking them to the offences’ seriousness and magnitude. Furthermore it introduces a number of correct and necessary traffic management provisions with emphasis on motorcycles and the 30km/h speed limit in cities. 

The Horizon 2020 research project PHOEBE has recently released the PHOEBE 5th Newsletter, which provides information on the latest outcomes of the EU-funded ‘Predictive Approaches for Safer Urban Environment’ (PHOEBE) project aiming to increase the road safety of vulnerable road users, especially those who use active mobility and e-scooters. Particular attention was given to the conclusion of the Project’s model development for the safety of vulnerable road users and the safety use case implementation. 

The European Platform of Transport Sciences (EPTS) organized with great success the 23rd European Transport Congress which was held in Paris, France on 26-27 June 2025, under the theme “Future of European transport: infrastructure, service and technologies“. Key topics discussed in this Conference were sustainable mobility and safety, railway transport, challenges in metropolises, airline transport and freight transport.   NTUA actively contributed with the following paper and presentation:

•   New Technologies for Sustainable Mobility: A Simulator-Based Approach to Risk Assessment and Transport Safety

The European Commission together with 2Zero, ERTRAC, CCAM and BATT4EU are organizing the Road Transport Research Results Conference (RTR Conference) will take place in Brussels, on 10-12 February 2026. For the past eight years, the RTR Conference has been a unique entry point into the achievements of EU-funded projects in road transport. This year’s 9th edition Conference is expected to attract its largest audience to date, with more than 500 participants on-site, emphasizing the importance of pre-competitive collaborative research in road transport at the European level.   

A paper titled Investigating the impact of in-vehicle warning information complexity on drivers: The role of working memory capacity and cognitive load authored by Kunchen Li, Wei Yuan, George Yannis, Fuwei Wu and Chang Wang has been published in Accident Analysis & Prevention. This Paper investigates the impact of the complexity of the warning messages on the behavior and physiological states of the driver, taking into account individual differences in working memory capacity and cognitive load levels. A total of 37 participants were recruited to conduct a mixed design driving simulation experiment, with working memory capacity treated as a between-subjects factor. The analysis included correlation as well as a Generalized Linear Mixed-effects Model (GLMM). The findings suggest that visually rich warnings lead to increased braking reaction times, especially between drivers having low working memory capacity and under high cognitive load. These findings offer theoretical insights to assist manufacturers in designing human-centered, personalized, and adaptive in-vehicle warning systems. 

The European Survey of Road users’ safety Attitudes (ESRA) together with VIAS Institute organized with great success the ESRA: 10 years event of global road safety insights and impact which took place in Brussels, Belgium on 24 June 2025. This event was a unique opportunity to reflect on the evolution of the ESRA initiative and its impact on road safety policy. Key findings from 10 years of research were presented, unveiling a dedicated report and the new ESRA dashboard, and will be explored how these insights can drive future improvements in road safety. Furthermore, ESRA4 was introduced, the next phase in the mission to create safer roads through data-driven strategies.   NTUA actively contributed with the following presentations:

•   ESRA3 final event
•   The use of ESRA data in the European Road Safety Observatory

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) organized with great success the 2025 ETSC Road Safety Performance Index Conference which took place in Brussels, Belgium on 24 June 2025. ETSC presented the findings of the PIN Annual Report looking at progress in reducing road deaths and serious injuries across Europe. Furthermore, a panel discussion looked at how reducing speed could help reach the 2030 target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 50%. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has also awarded its 2025 Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) Award to Norway, recognizing its long-term performance in improving road safety.   NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:

•   Benefits of reducing urban speed limits to 30km/h

The 10th Road Safety & Simulation International Conference 2026 (RSS2026) hosted by the University of Naples Federico II will be held in Napoli, on 23-26 June 2026,  under the theme “Advancing Towards the Safe System Approach”. The Conference aims to explore how the Safe System Approach has been embraced by the transportation community as an effective way to prevent fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways. Researchers can submit their abstracts until 31 October 2025. 

A paper titled E-scooter riders: A cross-cultural analysis of traffic safety attitudes and behaviors authored by Milad Delavary, Craig Lyon, Ward G.M. Vanlaar, Robyn D. Robertson, Dimitrios Nikolaou and George Yannis has been published in IATSS Research. This study aims to analyze the prevalence of self-reported risky behaviors across various demographic groups and regions, and to assess factors contributing to the likelihood of unsafe e-scooter riding behavior. To achieve this, data from the third edition of the E-Survey of Road users’ Attitudes (ESRA) were utilized, focusing on responses from 39 countries worldwide. This paper included descriptive analysis and also mixed-effects logistic regression models were employed. The findings suggest that younger individuals and males are more likely to use e-scooters and engage in risky behaviors. Key factors influencing or associated with these behaviors included previous crash involvement, student status, and permissive attitudes toward safety regulations. Furthermore the study highlights the need for targeted safety interventions that address infrastructural factors as well as behavioral factors, including demographic and attitudinal influences. 

The European Commission is organising the TRAVisions competitions for transport research awards to be announced in a prestigious award ceremony within the Transport Research Arena Conference (TRA) on 18-21 May 2026 in Budapest (abstract submission deadline: 30/6/2025): 

• TRAVisions 2026 Young Researcher Competition, is aimed at University and Technical Institute students pursuing bachelor, master and PhD degrees 
• TRAVisions 2026 Senior Researcher Competition, a competition for Senior Researchers in the field of innovative surface transport concepts based on results only from EU-funded projects 

A paper titled Validating traffic simulation for crash risk assessment using field crash data authored by Maria Oikonomou and George Yannis has been published in Journal of Safety Research. This study aims to bridge the gap between simulation models and real-world safety observations, contributing to the advancement of more robust safety assessment methodologies. Utilizing Aimsun Next, simulation data were analyzed to extract traffic conflicts, which were then converted into crash risk levels, as well ass real-world crash data between 2017 and 2019. The analysis of simulation and observational data revealed two distinct clusters: roads with low and high crash risks, clearly distinguished with minimal overlap. The findings suggest approximately 87.7% accuracy in predicting road crash risk classifications through traffic simulation, confirming its reliability for safety assessment. This paper validates a framework ready for future research applications in scenarios where direct observation is impractical, enhancing road safety and guiding interventions within evolving traffic conditions and technologies. 

The International Road Traffic Safety Analysis and Data (IRTAD) Group of  the International Transport Forum (ITF) has recently launched a new and highly useful interactive Road Safety Dashboard, showcasing up-to-date crash and mortality data from 35 IRTAD member countries. This Dashboard is exploiting the long-standing IRTAD database, with data collected directly from relevant national data providers. This data includes county strategies and targets, road fatality data from 2013 to 2023 with country comparisons and country profiles with road fatalities by user group and mortality rate by age. 

The European Association of Operators of Toll Road Infrastructures (ASECAP) is organizing for the third year a European day awareness Campaign on 25 June 2025, to draw public attention on safety of staff working on motorways. This Campaign titled “Strengthening Patroller Safety on European Roads” aims to take a European dimension supported throughout the network operated by ASECAP members. This year, with the engagement of new concessionaires and countries, the Campaign aims to go even further – promoting mutual respect, empathy, and concrete action between all road users.  

EIT Urban Mobility has just published the EIT Urban Mobility Academic Research Board Annual Report: Strategic Research Priorities and Gaps, with the active contribution of NTUA. This Report outlines key challenges in urban mobility across Europe and highlights five core priority areas: economic productivity, resilience and adaptation, decarbonization, health and safety, and accessibility and inclusion. The Report presents a high-level perspective on knowledge gaps and future research priorities which are examined in the context of societal goals, systemic pressures, and critical policy levers, bringing together leading researchers from across Europe and beyond. 

A paper titled Mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease dementia, and predictors of driving cessation: A 7-year longitudinal prospective study authored by Petros Stamatelos, Ion Beratis, Panagiota Hatzaki, Alexandra Economou, Nikolaos Andronas, Dimosthenis Pavlou, Stella Fragkiadaki, Dionysia Kontaxopoulou, Anastasios Bonakis, Leonidas Stefanis, George Yannis and Sokratis Papageorgiou has been published in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. This paper aims to identify predictors of driving cessation among patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD). The 109 participants underwent a neurological, neuropsychological and driving simulator assessment with re-evaluations after 48 and 84 months including a structured interview with the patients and their caregiver. Primary endpoints were driving cessation, death and progression to dementia. The findings suggest that age, SVF and mTWT are significant predictors of driving cessation among MCI and AD patients. Furthermore, driving simulator may be a promising component of driving evaluation. 

The Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) in cooperation with Austroads are organizing the Australasian Road Safety Conference 2025 (ARSC), which will be held in Perth, Australia on 20-23 October 2025. This Conference under the theme “Equity, Elasticity and Evolution” is expected to bring together road safety stakeholders and decision-makers from Australasia and international jurisdictions to facilitate collaboration and share information.   Researchers can register until 19 October 2025.

The Dutch Institute for Road Safety (SWOV) organized with great success the Trendline 2025 Conference which took place in The Hague, Netherlands on 10-11 June 2025, a key event for professionals working with road safety data, policy, and innovation. This Conference presented the results of the initial road safety KPIs, compared these with the Baseline values, discussed the methodologies for the new KPIs, and showed how KPIs can be used to support road safety policies.    NTUA actively contributed with the following presentations:

•  KPI Speed
•  KPI Alternative Speeding Indicators
• KPI Enforcement of Traffic Regulations

 

A paper titled Exploring the impact of driver feedback on safety: A systematic review of studies in real-world driving conditions authored by Armira Kontaxi, Apostolos Ziakopoulos and George Yannis has been published in Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. This study systematically investigates the role of driver feedback towards improving driving behavior, by utilizing the the PRISMA framework and by reviewing 34 studies. The studies are analyzed in terms of their experimental frameworks, including sample sizes, feedback delivery methods, and feedback phases, along with statistical models employed to assess the impact of feedback on driving behavior and road safety. The findings suggest that driver feedback can significantly reduce crash risks and improve driving behavior, but further research is required to explore its long-term effects and broader applicability. 

The fourth edition of Road Safety Manual (RSM) developed by the World Road Association (PIARC) is now available. It is designed to help countries at every stage of infrastructure development to fulfil road safety objectives and it is aligned with key pillars for the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030: Pillar 1: Multimodal transport and land use planning, Pillar 2: Safe Road Infrastrucure and Pillar 4: Safe Road Use. This comprehensive resource builds on the broad range of knowledge and experience provided by PIARC in the previous editions. It includes new thinking on road safety and offers a clear argument on why adopting a Safe System approach is crucial for all countries. 

The Foundation VINCI Autoroutes has recently published the results of the 15^th Euro-Barometer for Responsible Driving by Ipsos, in which representative attitudes of Europeans at the wheel are recorded, enabling also the monitoring of the evolution of risky driving and good practices to better target prevention messages in European countries. According to this study, Greece has the highest rate of drivers (82%) that use their mobile phone during driving in Europe (EU average 77%). Furthermore, most of the Greek drivers (81%) admits exceeding the speed limit by a few km/h. In addition, 40% of drivers in Greece admitted continuing driving even when they feel tired, whereas the respective EU average is 32%. 

A paper titled Eco-driving in rural areas: a sustainable approach to reducing emissions and enhancing road safety authored by  Marios Sekadakis, Penny Kourenti, Thodoris Garefalakis, Apostolos Ziakopoulos and George Yannis has been published in Case Studies on Transport Policy. This study aims to examine the advantages of eco-driving in rural and mountainous rural settings by employing an experimental methodology and utilizing data collected from 39 participants across a range of driving simulation scenarios and their characteristics through a questionnaire survey. To achieve this goal linear and logistic regression models were implemented. The analysis revealed that eco-driving significantly reduces pollutant emissions reduces fuel consumption by 7%, and reduces the probability of crashes by 66.2%. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis confirmed that mountainous rural networks, due to their topographical complexity, are associated with higher emissions, increased fuel consumption, and elevated crash risk compared to flatter rural environments, highlighting the need for terrain-specific eco-driving strategies. These findings highlight the promise of eco-driving practices in improving environmental sustainability and safety, particularly in rural environments. 

A paper titled Systematic review and meta-analysis of take-over time from automated driving at SAE levels 2 and 3 to manual control authored by Marios Sekadakis and George Yannis has been published in Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour.  This study systematically investigates how Take-Over Time (TOT) is affected by road environments, traffic volumes , SAE levels, Human-Machine Interface (HMI) designs and Take-Over Requests (TORs) alerts, utilizing the the PRISMA framework, by reviewing 51 studies. Meta-regression and sensitivity analyses were conducted to quantify the effects of key factors on TOT. Findings suggest significant correlations between shorter TOT and higher maximum longitudinal and lateral accelerations, greater lane variability, and a moderate increase in crash rates, highlighting potential safety concerns. This study highlights the critical role of adaptive systems tailored to specific driving contexts, road conditions, and automation levels.