A paper titled Laboratory of Traffic Engineering authored by  Lv Yisheng , George Yannis and Eleni Vlahogianni, has been published in IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Magazine. This paper focuses on the Laboratory of Traffic Engineering of NTUA (LTE), established in 1998. The mission of the NTUA LTE is to provide scientists and engineers with a high level of education and to promote research in the field of traffic engineering. The LTE’s educational and research activities are characterized by high innovation, excellent organization, and great utility for society. The LTE contributes to a vast spectrum of scientific fields, including predictive traffic management, road safety, and connected and cooperative automated mobility (CCAM). Some of the indicative Projects of LTE are: DIT4TRAM, PHOEBE, IMPROVA, FRODDO and SHOW. 

A paper titled Investigation of hit-and-run crash severity through explainable machine learning authored by Stella Roussou, Apostolos Ziakopoulos and George Yannis, has been published in Transportation Letters. This study, uses a 5-year dataset from Victoria, Australia and analyzed with CatBoost algorithms and SHAP values using explainable machine learning techniques, to highlight key severity factors. Findings suggest that the presence of police at the crash scene emerges as the most critical determinant, underscoring the importance of law enforcement in mitigating severe crash outcomes. Furthermore crashes involving passenger vehicles and those on weekends were also linked to higher severity. These novel findings offer valuable insights for targeted interventions and policy-making to mitigate the impact of severe hit-and-run crashes and enhance road safety. 

A paper titled Analyzing the safety effects of different operating speeds for an autonomous shuttle bus service authored by Maria Oikonomou, Marios Sekadakis, Christos Katrakazas and George Yannis has been published in Traffic Safety Research. This study utilizes microscopic simulation analysis in order to quantify the impact of road safety of an automated shuttle bus service within traffic. In the traffic network of Villaverde, Madrid, several scenarios were simulated using the Aimsun software considering the various CAV MPRs and the different operational speeds of the service, namely 15, 30, and 45 km/h. The analysis revealed that the conflict frequency is lower when the shuttle bus operates at 45 or 30 km/h compared to 15 km/h, with the 45 km/h speed showing the largest reduction. This reduction in conflicts is probably due to the shuttle bus adapting more easily to the average traffic speed and is more synchronized with traffic flow. The current study establishes a solid relationship for the conflict frequency of AV shuttles enabling stakeholders to optimize road safety towards a future of automated traffic. 

The National Technical University of Athens has recently released a Guide for Safe Driving providing practical advice for drivers and riders in order to prevent key crash causes: speeding, seat-belt, helmet, mobile phone use, drink-and-drive, fatigue and adverse weather conditions. This Guide suggests summary knowledge on these key crash risk factors together with highly useful recommendations in order to promote safe driving behaviour and develop a continuously improving road safety culture.  

The European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) together with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) have launched “Learn – Ride – Enjoy – Repeat”, a European-wide Campaign designed to encourage novice and experienced riders to take high-quality voluntary motorcycle training. This Campaign aims to inspire European riders to take the next step in their journey by enrolling in certified training programmes, ensuring more riders have access to advanced tools and knowledge to enjoy motorcycling safely and responsibly. The Campaign builds on the success of the European Motorcycle Training Quality Label – voluntary certification of high-quality post-license training courses across Europe. As motorcycling continues to serve as a key mobility and leisure tool for millions across Europe, improving rider safety remains a top priority.  

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 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 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.  

The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV, VIAS Institute and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Traffic Safety Culture Thematic Report which emphasizes on growing a positive Traffic Safety Culture (TSC). This Thematic Report highlights that TSC encompasses shared values, norms, and attitudes that impact behaviours across the road system, influencing not only individual road users but also key stakeholders such as public authorities, private companies, NGOs, vehicle manufacturers, and infrastructure designers. An important way to leverage TSC as a concept to improve road safety is through organisations and companies, also preventive efforts to tackle risk behaviours should be made, ideally by focusing on long-term behavioural change.  

The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV, VIAS Institute and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Professional Drivers Thematic Report which mainly refers to the safety of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and buses. This Thematic Report highlights that the safety of HGVs and buses are significantly influenced by road infrastructure due to their unique characteristics such as mass, maneuverability, and acceleration/deceleration capabilities, as well as the fatigue and distraction of the drivers. Furthermore, countermeasures about separating these heavy vehicles from other road users, providing professional drivers with timely warnings about hazardous or restricted road sections and addressing the need for adequate and well-managed overnight parking facilities for HGVs are suggested.  

The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV, VIAS Institute and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Children Thematic Report which refers to the safety of children. This Thematic Report highlights that children are, along with elderly people, the most vulnerable road users with boys being most at risk due to greater exposure and risk-taking behaviour. Moreover, a series of specific countermeasures are suggested, such as road infrastructure that prioritizes vulnerable users, 30 km/h zones around childcare facilities, mandatory protective equipment, the enhancement of active and passive vehicle safety, traffic laws with strict penalties, as well as better Traffic Safety and Mobility education in schools.  

The European Commission published the collision matrix for fatalities on rural roads in the EU. The available EU-wide data for 2023 contained in the CARE database, demonstrate that 52% of road traffic fatalities occurred in rural areas, with vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooters and users of powered two-wheelers) representing almost 36% of total fatalities. This collision matrix shows clearly that rural road user fatalities occur overwhelmingly when a crash involves cars and heavy vehicles (lorries and heavy goods vehicles). Furthermore, the high number (41% of total fatalities) of fatalities in single vehicle crashes involving cars and motorcycles demonstrate the critical role of speeding on rural roads.   

The European Commission published the collision matrix with fatalities on urban roads in the EU. The available EU-wide data for 2023 contained in the CARE database, demonstrate that 38% of road traffic fatalities occured in urban areas, with vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, users of powered two-wheelers and personal mobility devices) representing almost 70% of total fatalities. This collision matrix shows clearly that urban road user fatalities occur overwhelmingly when a crash involves cars and lorries, underlining the need to improve protection of these vulnerable road users. Furthermore, the high number (44% of the total fatalities) of fatalities in single vehicle crashes of cars and two-wheelers demosntrate the critical role of speeding in the cities.   

The European Commission published a breakdown of fatalities in the EU by road user and (other) “main vehicle” involved in the crash. The matrix shows clearly that fatalities overwhelmingly occur in collisions involving cars, and the need  to increase the protection of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists and e-scooter riders. EU policies are already evolving in this direction with the new mandatory safety measures introduced by the General Safety Regulation focused on VRUs.  

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published the 48th PIN Flash Report titled “Reducing Serious Injuries on European Roads“. This Report examines the underreporting of serious injuries in European roads. According to official sources, approximately 1,291,000 people are reported injured annually in the European Union, with 141,000 of these injuries being serious. While most serious injuries are suffered as a result of collisions involving motor vehicles and are much more likely to be reported by police, many involving pedestrians and cyclists where no motor vehicle was involved go unreported. The current performance in the European Union is not on track for reaching the target to reduce serious road traffic injuries by 50% between 2020 and 2030 and further action targeting serious injuries reduction is needed.  

The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Annual Statistical Report on Road Safety, April 2025 in the EU, which provides an overview of crash data for 2013 to 2023 from 27 EU Member States and the four EFTA countries. According to this Report, 53% of road traffic fatalities occurred on rural roads, versus 38% in urban areas and 9% on motorways. It was also revealed that car occupants (drivers and passengers) represented 44% of all fatalities, while pedestrians accounted for 18%, users of powered two-wheelers (motorbikes and mopeds) 17%, and cyclists 10%.  

A paper titled Identifying driving profiles after take over request in automated vehicles at SAE levels 2 and 3 authored by Marios Sekadakis, Sandra Trösterer, Peter Moertl and George Yannis has been published in Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. The analysis included clustering to develop distinct driving profiles based on key measurements collected through a driving simulator experiment, such as acceleration, deceleration, and speed, offering a deep understanding of driver behavior in responses to take over requests. Findings suggest that the nervous driving profile, although less frequent, poses significant safety implications due to higher deceleration rates and variability in speed and deceleration. The study also highlights that non-driving related tasks increase the need for longer take over time with greater variability observed at higher automation levels. These insights can inform the design of more adaptive HMI systems, enhance real-time feedback mechanisms, and improve driver training programs to ensure safer transitions during take over requests. 

A paper titled Evaluating the Environmental and Safety Impacts of Eco-Driving in Urban and Highway Environments authored by Marios Sekadakis, Maria Ioanna Sousouni, Thodoris Garefalakis, Maria Oikonomou, Apostolos Ziakopoulos and George Yannis has been published in Sustainability. Within a group of 39 participants aged 18–30, multiple driving scenarios were conducted, both without and with eco-driving guides, to assess the impact of eco-driving behavior on environmental sustainability and safety outcomes. Data on pollutant emissions, as well as crash probability were utilized using linear regression models, while binary logistic regression models were employed to assess crash probability. The analysis revealed thateco-driving led to a significant reduction in pollutant emissions, with CO₂ emissions decreasing by 1.42%, CO by 98.2%, and NO_x by 20.7% across both urban and highway environments, with a more substantial impact in urban settings due to lower average speeds and smoother driving patterns. These findings support the integration of eco-driving techniques into transportation policies and driver education programs to foster sustainable and safer driving practices. 

A paper titled Examining the effects of texting, web surfing, and navigating apps on urban driving behavior and crash risk authored by Maria Oikonomou, Foteini Orfanou, Marios Sekadakis, Dimosthenis Pavlou and George Yannis has been published in Traffic Safety Research. This study collects driving data from 36 young adult drivers through a driving simulator experiment, supplemented by a survey to gather participant characteristics and driving profiles. Data analysis utilized linear and binary logistic mixed models to explore the effects of texting and web surfing on speed and its deviation, headway distance and its deviation, and crash risk. Results indicate that using texting, web surfing and navigating applications while driving elevate crash risk by 10% and decrease speed, speed deviation, headway, and headway deviation by 9%, 23%, 6%, and 18%, respectively. These findings underscore the crucial role of specific smartphone applications in shaping driving behavior and emphasize the need for targeted interventions to mitigate the associated risks in urban driving scenarios. 

A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “The impact of alcohol consumption on driving in rural roads using a driving simulator” was recently presented by Giorgos Papadakis. For this purpose, a driving simulation experiment was conducted with 35 drivers of different characteristics, who were required to drive under varying blood alcohol concentration levels. Additionally, data were collected through questionnaires, including demographic characteristics, driving habits, and perceptions regarding alcohol-impaired driving. Data analysis was performed using statistical and mathematical models, such as linear regression and binary logistic regression, revealing that increased BAC leads to a longer reaction time, higher accident probability, and reduced ability to maintain a safe distance from the preceding vehicle. The results confirm the significant impact of alcohol consumption on driving safety and emphasize the necessity of additional preventive measures.  

A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Predicting driver behaviour in a cross-country naturalistic driving study using machine learning techniques” was recently presented by Giannis Roukos. For this reason, valuable data on driver behavior were collected through a driving experiment conducted under real-world conditions in Belgium and the United Kingdom. In the initial analysis, the importance of the variables was calculated using the “Random Forest” algorithm, based on which nine input variables were selected for further analysis. Findings suggest that the average speed of the vehicle was identified was the most significant variable, while sudden driving events, including both harsh acceleration and harsh braking, were found to significantly influence the classification of driving behavior as dangerous.  

A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Cost-benefit analysis of reducing speed limits on Greek highways” was recently presented by Michalis Nikolaou. For this reason, participants evaluated choices based on travel time, fuel consumption, and accident risk. Three scenarios were analyzed: (I) reducing the speed limit from 130 to 120 km/h, (II) reducing it to 110 km/h, and (III) no change, using binary and multinomial logistic regression models. To assess economic viability, a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) was conducted for the period 2023-2033. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, offering an in-depth understanding of public perception and acceptance of lower speed limits, which is crucial for developing effective and widely accepted road safety interventions in Greece.  

According to the European Commission preliminary statistics, fewer people died on European roads in 2024, a slight 3% drop compared to 2023,  which is the equivalent to 600 fewer lives lost. In 2024, around 19,800 people were killed in road crashes in the EU. Over the past five years, Greece, Spain, France, and Italy have seen only modest declines in road deaths; in contrast, Bulgaria, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia are making strong progress toward the 50% reduction target. Even if road fatalities decreased more significantly in 2024 than they did in 2023, the overall pace of improvement remains too slow, and most Member States are not on track to meet the EU’s goal of halving road deaths by 2030. 

A paper titled Using computer vision and street-level videos for pedestrian-vehicle tracking and behaviour analysis, authored by Roberto Ventura, Stella Roussou, Apostolos Ziakopoulos, Benedetto Barabino and George Yannis has been published in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Using advanced computer vision object detection and feature extraction models, this framework integrates Kalman filtering, homography transformations, and object re-identification to achieve high accuracy. This study utilizes data from roadside video recordings from Athens, Greece. The findings show accuracy rates of 50%-70% in detecting traffic light statuses and identified a 23% discrepancy on average between manual and automated counts of illegal crossings. This paper underscores the potential of computer vision detection systems to provide reliable, real-time data that takes the road network conditions into account, ultimately contributing to safer urban traffic management and informed policy decisions.