Road Safety outside Urban Areas in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. 14.540  people were killed in traffic accidents on roads outside urban areas in the EU countries in 2010. Fatalities on roads outside urban areas were reduced by 44% between 2001 and 2010. 

Road Safety at Junctions in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of theEuropean Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. Almost 6.500 people were killed in road traffic accidents at junctions in the EU countries in 2010, representing slightly more than 20% of the total road traffic fatalities. The fall in the number of fatalities at junctions over the past decade has broadly paralleled the fall of all fatalities. 

Road Safety on Motorways in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. 2.346 people were killed in road traffic accidents on motorways in 18 EU countries in 2009. The fatality rate (fatalities per million inhabitants) on motorways decreased by more than 48% between 2001 and 2010, from 9,5 per million inhabitants in 2001 to 4,7 in 2010. 

Road Safety of Heavy Goods Vehicles and Buses in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. More than 4.800 people were killed in road traffic accidents involving HGVs and more than 800 people died in road traffic accidents involving buses or coaches in the EU countries in 2010. The annual number of people killed in road traffic accidents involving HGVs, buses or coaches fell by more than 40% between 2001 and 2010. 

Road Safety of car occupants in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. 15.079 car occupants were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries in 2010, repersenting 48% of the total road traffic fatalities. This figure represents a 49% decrease in relation to the 27.490 fatalities of car occupants since ten years before in 2001. 

Road Safety of Motorcycles and Mopeds in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. In 2010, 1.094 riders (drivers and passengers) of mopeds and 4.368 riders of motorcycles were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries, repersenting 15% of the total road traffic fatalities. 

Road Safety of Cyclists in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. In 2010, 1.994 pedal cyclists were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries, repersenting 6,8% of the total road traffic fatalities. The figure represents a 38% decrease during the decade 2001-2010.   

Road Safety of Pedestrians in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. 5.582 pedestrians were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries in 2010, which is 20% of all fatalities. This figure represents a 39% decrease in relation to the 9.130 pedestrian fatalities since ten years before in 2001. 

Road Safety of the Elderly in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. 6.304 elderly people (>64 years old) were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries in 2010. This figure constitutes 21,7% of road traffic fatalities of all ages in 2009. The number of elderly people who died in road traffic accidents fell by 30% between 2001 and 2010. 

Road Safety of Young people in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. 4.853 young people (aged 18-24 years old) were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries in 2010. The number of young people killes in road accidents halved between 2001 abd 2010. 

Road Safety of Youngsters in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. Almost 900 youngsters (aged 15-17 years old) were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries in 2010. This figure represents a more than 50% decrease in relation to the 1.859 youngster fatalities since ten years before in 2001. 

Road Safety of Children in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. Almost 800 children (<15 years old) were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries in 2010. This figure represents a fall of over a half in relation to the 1.862 children fatalities since ten years before in 2001. 

The detailed main road safety figures of the EU are highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012, available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. The United Kingdom, Sweden and Netherlands are the best performing EU countries, as far as fatalities per population is concerned, whereas Greece, Romania and Poland are those with the lowest performance. 

Road Safety in Urban Areas in the EU is highlighted at the Traffic Safety Basic Facts 2012 available at the Road Safety Knowledge System of the DACOTA project within the framework of the European Road Safety Observatory of the European Commission. 10.837 people were killed in traffic accidents on urban roads in the EU countries in 2010, repersenting38% of the total road traffic fatalities. Fatalities on urban roads were reduced by 39% between 2001 and 2010.   

A paper titled ‘Reaction times of young alcohol-impaired drivers’ co-authored by Z.Christoforou, M.Karlaftis and G.Yannis is now available at the Accident Analysis and Prevention Journal. The paper focuses on young individuals who drive under the influence of alcohol and are having a higher relative risk of crash involvement; as such, the literature has extensively investigated the factors affecting such involvement through both post-accident surveys and simulator experiments. The results suggested that increased reaction times before consuming alcohol strongly affect post-consumption reaction times, while increased BrAC levels prolong reaction times, a 10% increase in BrAC levels results in a 2% increase in reaction time. Moreover, individuals with faster alcohol absorption times perform better regardless of absolute BrAC level, while recent meals lead to higher reaction times and regular exercising to lower reaction times.  

A paper titled ‘Mobile phone use and traffic characteristics‘ co-authored by G.Yannis, E.Papadimitriou, P.Papantoniou and N.Petrellis is just published in the Traffic Engineering & Control Journal. The objective of this research is the analysis of the impact of mobile phone use on vehicle traffic speed and headways. It was found that vehicle speed is increased for young drivers (aged 18-25 years), male drivers and taxi drivers, and decreased for older drivers (>55 years) and for drivers using their mobile phone while driving. Vehicle’s time headways were not found to be affected by cell phone use. However, headspaces, estimated as the product of vehicle speed and time headways, were found to be decreased for drivers using their mobile phone, young drivers and older drivers. 

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) 92nd Annual Meeting  was held in Washington, D.C., in January 2013, with more than 4.000 presentations in a nearly 750 scientific sessions and workshops. Spotlight theme for 2013 was deploying transportation research – doing things smarter, better, faster. NTUA road safety presentations concerned: Road safety forecasts in five european countries using structural time-series models

From January 19th 2013, all new driving licences issued across the EU will be in the form of a plastic “credit card”, with a standard European format and tougher security protection. The new European licence will progressively replace the more than 100 different paper and plastic models currently in use by more than 300 million drivers across the EU. It is a part of a broader package of measures (3rd EU Driving Licence Directive) coming into force to guarantee a true freedom of movement to EU drivers, reinforce safety on European roads and reduce possibilities of fraud. 

The Road Injuries Consultation Report of the European Commission is now available. The public consultation was launched as part of an initiative to reduce the number and the severity of road traffic injuries. This initiative is one of the strategic objectives outlined in the Policy Orientations on Road Safety 2011-2020, and a priority for EU action. Accordingly, the European Commission is developing a comprehensive strategy of action concerning road traffic injuries, with the assistance of relevant actors. The findings of the public consultation clearly indicate that road safety is regarded as a priority on the political agenda. Target setting and support of exchange of best practises are seen as the two areas with the highest EU added value, while research and project funding, legislation and data analysis are following slightly behind. 

According to ELSTAT data, 1.141 persons were killed in Greece:713 drivers, 205 passengers and 223 pedestrians.  Male drivers account for almost 60% of all road fatalities in Greece. Young male drivers account for almost 50% of male driver fatalities and older people account for more than 50% of pedestrian fatalities. The higher accident severity was found in accidents involving older persons (7,7 fatalities per 100 accidents) and younger persons (4,1 fatalities per 100 accidents). 

According to ELSTAT data, among the 1.141 persons killed in Greece in 2011: 582 were outside built-up areas and 559 were inside built-up areas. 55% of road fatalities outside built-up area occurred on national roads. More than three quarters of road accidents and 49% of fatalities occurred inside built-up areas. However, accident severity is more than 4 times higher outside built-up areas in total. 

According to ELSTAT data, come off the road and at angle collisions are the most common accident types outside built-up areas. At angle collisions and pedestrian accidents, side impact and rear end collisions are the most common accident types inside built-up areas. Accident severity is 4 times higher outside built-up areas and almost 5 time higher at head-on collisions or when a pedestrian is involved. 

According to ELSTAT data, most fatalities occur at daytime and at night with good street lighting inside built-up area, or with no street lighting outside built-up area. Accident severity is increased at night with no street lighting or poor street lighting. 

According to ELSTAT data, the majority of road accidents and fatalities occur during clear sky, both inside and outside built-up area. However, accident severity is higher in rainy weather and other weather conditions especially outside built up areas.  

According to ELSTAT data, 27% of road fatalities are motorcycle riders, whereas half of road fatalities are passenger car occupants. Most car occupant fatalities occur outside built-up areas while most motorcycle and pedestrian fatalities occur inside built-up areas. Accident severity is higher outside built-up areas for all transport modes.  

Basic characteristics of road fatalities in Greece for the period 1991 – 2011 are summarised in a comprehensive Table (data source:ELSTAT. Since 2001, there are more than 700 less road fatalities per year in Greece. According to these time series data an important decrease in road fatalities for young people is observed during the last decade, as well as a spectacular decrease in fatalities outside urban areas and in the number of people killed in accidents with HGV. On the contrary fatalities decrease during the last decade is limited for people kiled in motorways, non natianal drivers and women drivers. 

This report is the analysis of the responses to this online public consultation on “The provision of road safety related minimum universal traffic information free of charge to users under the ITS Directive” launched by the European Commission in March 2012 on Your Voice in Europe. In the public consultation, respondents indicate a strong belief that safety related traffic information contributes to road safety. They show broad support for action by the EC to ensure the provision of road safety related traffic information, free of charge, to users across Europe and they strongly support the harmonisation of the means of dissemination, and the definition of a uniform presentation of safety related traffic information to the end-user.   

A paper titled ‘Road safety performance indicators for the interurban road network‘ co-authored by G.Yannis, W.Weijermars, V.Gitelman, M.Vis, A.Chaziris, E.Papadimitriou and Azevedo C. is published in the Accident Analysis and Prevention Journal. This paper presents a theoretical concept for the determination of this SPI as well as a translation of this theory into a practical method. Also, the method is applied in a number of pilot countries namely the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece and Israel. The results show that the SPI could be efficiently calculated in all countries, despite some differences in the data sources. In general, the calculated overall SPI scores were realistic and ranged from 81 to 94%, with the exception of Greece where the SPI was relatively lower (67%).  

A report on road safety policies published by the World Road Association (PIARC) is now available. This report examines the road safety performance of several nations, reviews reported policies and strategies in jurisdictions and attempts to establish linkages between adopted and implemented road safety policies, overarching multi-year strategies and performance outcomes. The findings are built upon survey returns from 16 countries and 8 selected state/provincial jurisdictions which set out the road safety visions, strategies, policies and practices they have adopted to underpin their road safety performance. 

A new book of Professor Anastasios K. Apostoleris , titled “Highway Engineering I – Design: Theory and Practice” has been just published by Papasotirou Editions, Greece.