Author: Ioannis Papadogiorgakis
A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Analysis of drink and drive on driven behavior and safety in urban environment” was recently presented by Themis Bouropoulou. To achieve this, a driving simulator experiment with 35 drivers took place. The analysis of the results was carried out by linear and binomial logistic regression models. The main conclusions indicate that as the amount of alcohol in the body increases, the likelihood of a crash in an urban environment also increases. The distance from the vehicle ahead decreases as alcohol consumption increases. Finally, as the alcohol level in the body rises, the driver’s average reaction time to potential obstacles also increases. 
A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Safety Impact Investigation of an automated shuttle service based on network traffic simulation” was recently presented by Maria Takka. For this purpose, three scenarios were carried out that differed in terms of the percentage of conventional and autonomous vehicles. For data analysis, polynomial logistic regression models were developed for each scenario. The results showed that the speed limit, the maximum deceleration of the second vehicle, the difference in vehicle speeds as observed at the minimum time-to-collision, the initial deceleration rate of the second vehicle, the type of conflict and the traffic capacity have a significant influence on the simulated hazard, which indicates critical conditions for the occurrence of a crash.
A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Preferences of Public Transport passengers towards contactless bank card payments” was recently presented by Konstantinos Fotopoulos. To achieve this objective, data collection was conducted through a questionnaire with focused questions, completed by a large sample of commuters. Subsequently, binary and multinomial logistic regression models were developed. Results indicate that as the difficulties in purchasing tickets decrease and payment security is ensured, passengers are more likely to adopt the new payment and boarding system. In particular, those who seek information about the new system are more likely to embrace it, as they recognize its benefits. Access to information and familiarity with contactless payments play a critical role in strengthening their confidence, making them more open to new payment practices, such as using bank cards or digital wallets.
A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Ιnvestigation of dangerous driving behaviour by exploiting naturalistic driving data” was recently presented by Eleni Theodoraki. To achieve this goal, useful data related to driver behaviour were collected through a naturalistic driving experiment in real-life conditions in Belgium and England combining machine and deep learning algorithms. The results showed that the most significant variables were the occurrence or non-occurrence of harsh acceleration and the occurrence or non-occurrence of harsh braking in Belgium and the total travel distance and the occurrence or non-occurrence of harsh acceleration in England.
A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Critical factors of motorcyclists self-declared behaviour and safety globally” was recently presented by Dimitrios Oikonomou. For this purpose, five Binomial Logistic Regression models were used, exploiting data from the third edition of the ESRA survey (E-Survey on Road Users’ Attitudes). The five dependent variables used concerned riding without a helmet, riding under the influence of alcohol / substances, using mobile phone while riding, and exceeding the speed limit for moped and motorcycle riders. The statistical models confirmed that the independent variables in each model play a key role in self-reported behavior and motorcyclist safety globally. Gender stands out as an important factor, with men more prone to engaging in irregular behaviors. Another significant factor is environmental respect, as drivers who litter on the road are more likely to exhibit such behaviors.
A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Analysis of eco-driving benefits in urban and highway environments using driving simulator” was recently presented by Maria Ioanna Sousouni. To achieve this objective, an experiment was conducted in a driving simulator, and 39 young people participated to collect road data. The developed statistical models were related to carbon dioxide emission, carbon monoxide emission, nitrogen oxide emission and the accident probability. It was shown that eco-driving contributes to reducing the emission of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and the probability of the driver being involved in an accident. The study showed that urban roads produce fewer pollutants than highways, but the risk of accidents is significantly higher, highlighting a major road safety concern.
Τhe European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published the 47th PIN Flash Report titled “Improving Road Safety of E-scooters“. This Report calls for the development of mandatory technical requirements for all e-scooters sold in the European Union, highlighting the need for stronger road safety measures across Europe. Key recommendations include stricter e-scooter safety standards, such as a 20 km/h speed limit, to address rising urban safety concerns. Enhanced regulations aim to ensure safer roads for all users. 
A paper titled “Effectiveness of 30 km/h speed limit – A literature review” authored by George Yannis and Eva Michelaraki has been published in Journal of Safety Research. This study evaluates the impact of 30 km/h speed limits on road safety, emissions, fuel consumption, traffic flow, livability and public health. Results from 60 simulation studies and estimations demonstrated significant reductions of over 40% of road crash fatalities, alongside significant subsequent increase of active travelling (pedestrians, cyclists and e-scooters) and Public Transport passengers, as mobility conditions become more user friendly to the vulnerable road users. Such a high societal impact for such a small change in our habits. 
The Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT/CERTH) in cooperation with the Hellenic Institute of Transportation Engineers (HITE) are organizing the 12th International Congress on Transportation Research (ICTR 2025), which will take place on 16-18 October 2025 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The spotlight theme of the 2025 Congress is “Transportation in the era of Artificial Intelligence”. Researchers can submit their papers until 30 June 2025.
The Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) organized with great success the 24th Road Safety Hackathon, which took place in Riga, Latvia, on November 15-17, 2024. This event aimed to collaborate, innovate and create solutions to improve road safety. Particular emphasis was given to vulnerable road users and accessibility, emergency response and medical care, sustainability, smart infrastructure and urban design and vehicle safety. NTUA actively contributed with the following presentations:
NTUA actively contributed with the following presentations:
The University of Twente together with TRAIL organized with great success the Cycling, Micromobility and Road Safety Seminar in Enschede, Netherlands on 1 November 2024. The primary focus of this seminar was to support micromoblility efforts toward safer roads across Europe. Experiences and lessons learned from across Europe were shared, identifying best practice which can address the changing patterns of micromobilty in the European cities. NTUA Professor George Yannis actively contributed with the following presentation:
POLIS, the European Cities Network, has organized with great success the Safety and Security Working Group Meeting which was held online on 30 October 2024. The POLIS Safety and Security Working Group focused on the effectiveness of lower speed limits and Low-Traffic Neighborhoods in enhancing road safety. NTUA Professor George Yannis actively contributed with the following presentation:
The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published a Position Paper titled “EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 Funds for Road Safety“. In this paper, ETSC presents recommendations for funding for road safety initiatives within the next long-term EU budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). These recommendations should support work towards meeting EU’s Vision Zero target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030, paving the way for safer roads across Europe.
The European Union Road Federation (ERF) has released the updated Recommendations for Sign Inspection. These guidelines provide the road community with important updated information on practices and technical recommendations to reduce roadside injuries and fatalities. The publication aligns with the EU’s Vision Zero goals, emphasizing the importance of safe infrastructure in crash prevention and injury mitigation.
The Horizon Europe research project IMPROVA has recently released the IMPROVA 1st Newsletter, which provides information on the latest outcomes of the EU-funded IMPROVA project focusing on enhancing road safety by addressing the complexities of long-term consequences (LTC) caused by road traffic accidents. With a commitment to improving the quality of life for all road users, IMPROVA goes beyond simply saving lives by focusing on understanding, quantifying, and mitigating the impact of LTC. The project also advances injury mitigation strategies to support the achievement of Vision Zero, aligned with the European Commission’s Transport and Mobility sector goals.
The International Transport Forum (ITF) has recently published a new Summary Report titled “Advancing Sustainable Mobility in Greece: Supporting SUMPs uptake“. This initiative supports Greek cities in developing and implementing Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) that focus on environmentally friendly and safe transport solutions, such as walking, cycling, and public transport. It offers Greek local authorities practical guidance and tools to optimize transport planning, ensuring safer and more sustainable urban mobility systems, in order to achieve climate neutrality by the year 2030.
A paper titled “Cost benefit analyst of reducing speed limits in Athens to 30 Km/h” authored by Stella Roussou, Virginia Petraki, Katerina Deliali, Armira Kontaxi and George Yannis has been published in Case Studies on Transport Policy. The study highlights the benefits of lowering speed limits in Athens from 50 km/h to 30 km/h, including a 30-40% reduction in traffic crashes and a 20-25% decrease in injury severity . Additionally, the policy could lead to lower by 10-15% CO2 emissions and improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists. The overall benefits are projected to outweigh the costs by 3 to 5 times, making it a highly effective policy for safer, more sustainable urban mobility.
UNECE has introduced new Guidelines and Recommendations aimed at enhancing cycling networks and promoting cycling as a sustainable and safe mode of transportation. These Guidelines emphasize the need for well-connected cycling infrastructure and the integration of cycling into national transport systems. By prioritizing safer cycling routes, the Guidelines aim to achieve safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly urban and rural mobility. This initiative is expected to play a key role in shaping future transport policies across Europe.
The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) announced at the IRF World Congress 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey, the enhancement of the Star Rating for Designs (SR4D), a Tool that allows the safety of road designs to be measured before the commencement of civil works. Using the Tool, road engineers and designers can define a road’s geometry and code its features to obtain a globally recognised iRAP safety Star Rating, along with fatal and serious injury estimations, and safety investment plans to optimise safety.
Road Safety Support organized with great success the National Safer Roads Partnerships Conference which took place in Manchester, on 25-26 September 2024. Key topics discussed in this conference were science and technology within policing, a new way to measure traffic safety and road safety as a government priority. NTUA Professor George Yannis actively contributed with the following key-note presentation:
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Gender Facts and Figures Report which looks at fatalities on European roads distributed by gender. According to this Report, in 2022, the share of males among fatally injured road users was 77% male versus 23% of female fatalities within the EU countries. The ratio of male to female fatalities has been stable between 2012 and 2022. Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Slovakia and Portugal have a share of male fatalities of 80% or higher. The absolute number of male fatalities has decreased by 21% in the period 2012-2022 and the number of female fatalities by 25% in the same time period.
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Single Vehicle Crashes Facts and Figures Report which looks at single vehicle fatalities, which means fatalities in crashes including only one moving vehicle. According to this Report, in the EU in 2022, 6,369 people were killed in a single vehicle crash and the number has decreased by 11% in the last decade and amounts to 35% of all road fatalities. Moreover the share of single vehicle fatalities within all road fatalities is highest in Southern and Western Europe. Furthermore, there are proportionally more single vehicle fatalities during weekends both during daytime (26%) and nights (16%) compared to other road user fatalities (21% during daytime and 9% at night).
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Serious Injuries Facts and Figures Report which looks at serious injuries resulting from road crashes in EU and EFTA countries. According to this Report, the police-based data indicates an average decrease of 19% in serious injuries over the decade 2012-2022, as well as average around 8 serious injuries for every road fatality on EU roads (France and Italy excluded among others). Moreover, vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, moped riders and motorcyclists) make up a large share of serious injuries (57% EU average), with most of the serious injuries in the EU occurring on urban roads, accounting for 57%, half of which are pedestrians.
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Regional Distribution Facts and Figures Report which looks at the regional distribution of road fatalities on European roads. According to this Report, the number of fatalities per million inhabitants is highest in Eastern Europe. Some of the regions with the highest mortality rates can be found in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. In most countries, there are regions with a comparatively low mortality rate as well as a comparatively high one. Furthermore, the trend in the rate over time tends to vary between regions. In Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia there has been a decrease in all regions. Furthermore, Regarding road types, the share of fatalities on rural roads within the total number of fatalities is high in Central, North and West Europe, while the rate for urban roads is high in East and South Europe.
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Powered Two-Wheelers Facts and Figures Report which looks at fatalities at motorcycle and moped riders’ fatalities on EU roads. According to this Report, respectively, 3% and 16% of all road fatalities in the EU in 2022 were moped riders and motorcyclists. Taken together therefore, almost one in five road fatalities were powered two wheeler riders. Moreover, in fatal moped and motorcycle crashes, often no other road user was involved as 29% and 37% of moped riders and motorcyclists respectively died in a single vehicle crash (i.e. a crash with no crash opponent).
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Pedestrians Facts and Figures Report which looks at pedestrian fatalities on European roads. According to this Report, almost one in five of all road fatalities across the EU were pedestrians. The absolute number of pedestrian fatalities fell from 5,410 to 3,740 fatalities between 2012 and 2022 (-31%), which is a greater decrease compared to the decrease for the total number of road fatalities (-22%). Furthermore, around 1 in 2 pedestrian fatalities (47%) in 2022 were seniors aged 65 or older.
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the New Forms of Mobility Facts and Figures Report which looks at fatalities of users of motorized micro-mobility devices and pedelecs on European roads. According to this Report, in 2022, 76 motorized micro-mobility device fatalities and 385 pedelec fatalities were recorded in the 15 European countries reporting data on these transport modes. Furthermore, the share of fatalities on motorized micro-mobility devices on urban roads, where all transport modes are represented, amounts to 72% in 2022, while fatalities on pedelecs are lower with a share of 50% on urban roads.
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Cyclists Facts and Figures Report which refers to cyclist fatalities on EU roads. According to this Report, in contrast to the number of fatalities in crashes with other modes of transport, the number of cyclists killed on EU roads has remained at more or less the same level for the past decade: since 2012 a decrease of -3%, since 2019 a decrease of -1%. In 2022, half of all cyclist fatalities (50%) were cyclists aged 65 years or older on average and more than half of cyclist fatalities occurred in crashes on urban roads (57%), 42% on rural roads and 1% on motorways.
The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Children Facts and Figures Report which looks at road fatalities among children on EU roads. According to this Report, the absolute number of fatalities among children aged 0-14 decreased between 2012 and 2022 by 33% to 455 fatalities in 2022, while the short-term change from 2019 to 2022 is a decline of 7%. The relative share remained constant throughout this time at just over 2% of all EU fatalities.
A paper titled Estimating the Necessary Amount of Driving Data for Assessing Driving Behavior authored by Anna-Maria Stavrakaki, Dimitrios Tselentis, Emmanoul Barmpounakis, Eleni Vlachogianni and George Yannis has been published in Sensors. The study aims to provide a methodological framework for estimating the amount of driving data that should be collected for each driver in order to acquire a clear picture regarding their driving behavior. Detailed data collected from smartphone sensors were used to test the proposed methodology. The findings suggest that here is no specific time point or number of trips after which driving behavior stabilizes for all drivers and/or all metrics examined. The driving behavior stabilization is mostly affected by the duration of the trips examined and the aggressiveness of the driver.
