Author: agouma
A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Critical Impact Factors of pedestrian traffic in Athens Downtown” was recently presented by Loukas Stroggylis. This Diploma Thesis revealed that the factors affecting pedestrian traffic are significantly related to the motorized traffic, as well as road infrastructure, land use and Covid-19 Pandemic. After crucial conclusions to quantify the influence of each variable were drawn, comments were made on the positive effects of pilot mobility interventions, critical issues were considered and finally, proposals were made for the improvement of the pedestrian traffic in the center of Athens and for further research. 
An NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Road Safety Benchmarking in Greek Regions” was recently presented by Kostas Michailoglou. Data of road accidents and the main characteristics of each Region were used for the period 2010-2019 and two linear regression models were developed for all Regions of Greece, with and without Attica. THe models results indicate that the number deaths per 100.000 population depends on the income per inhabitant and the number of vehicles, the number of physicians (with Attica) and the density of each district (km²/inhabitant) and the unemployment (without Attica). Subsequently, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used for the benchmarking of the 12 Regions (except of Attica) based on their performance on road safety. According to this classification, Thessaly, Ionian islands and Central Macedonia appear to have the best road safety performances, while Peloponnese and South Aegean have the worst ones.
An NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “The impact of Weather Conditions and Time Pressure on the safe driving behavior on rural roads, with the use of driving simulator” was recently presented by Gregory Christodoulou. In this Diploma Thesis the application of mathematical models showed that there are two variants that lead to a significant increase in the probability of an accident. These are the Snow and the Time pressure, which especially for the latter, is a fact of concern for the drivers.
An NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Car drivers’ preferences towards the development of cycling infrastructure in the city of Athens, Greece” was recently presented by Thanos Zevgaras. This Diploma Thesis revealed that as the comfort of traveling by car increases, so does the likelihood of choosing a large amplification (aid) of the bicycle network, despite the costly contribution needed for it and that the greater the experience and the daily kilometers of the drivers, the more likely they are to choose the non-amplification (aid) of the bicycle network.
An NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Comparative analysis of road safety between EU and USA” was recently presented by Charie Tsoukalas. The multivariate linear regression model developed, revealed that an increase in speed limit leads to an increase in lives lost in road crashes and an increase in GDP per capita leads effectively to a decrease in fatal accidents. The benchmarking of all US States and EU countries using Data Envelopment Analysis demonstrated that EU countries are more effective (higher safety performance) than those of the USA, possibly because of the higher vehicle fleet and vehicle-kilometers and lower public transport share in the US.
The European Commission (DG Move) has organised with great success the CARE Expert Meeting, that was held online, on 28 October 2021. The Meeting was a great opportunity for an open discussion on data gathered on road crashes and fatalities. NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:
TRAVisions concerns two competitions for transport research awards to be announced in a prestigious award ceremony at the Transport Research Arena Conference (TRA) on 14-17 November 2022 in Lisbon: 
- TRAVisions 2022 Young Researcher Competition, is aimed at university and technical institute students pursuing bachelor, master and PhD degrees
- TRAVisions 2022 Senior Researcher Competition, a competition for senior researchers in the field of innovative surface transport concepts based on results only from EU-funded projects
The World Health Oganisation (WHO) opened the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 in Geneva, with the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030. WHO and the UN Regional Commissions, in cooperation with other partners in the UN Road Safety Collaboration, have developed a Global Plan for the Decade of Action. Road traffic accidents have remained a major cause of death globally, even though every one of those deaths and injuries is preventable. A Global Plan has been developed to support the implementation of the Decade of Action and its objectives.
A Global Plan has been developed to support the implementation of the Decade of Action and its objectives. 
Τhe European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published the 41st PIN Flash Report titled Reducing road deaths among young people, aged 15 to 30. This Report looks at the progress made in Europe in reducing road deaths among young people. It is based on the latest available data from the 32 EU and non-EU countries that participate in ETSC’s Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme, examining trends over time as well as differences between countries, which are very significant.
The SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre, the Université Gustave Eiffel (UGE) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) co-organised with great success the 8th International Conference on Driver Distraction and Inattention (DDI2022) which was held in Gothenburg, on 19-20 October 2022. The Conference brought together participants – from academia, industry and government – up-to-date on the developments and trends in the field of inattention and distraction in driving.
The new EU road fatalities interactive infographic of the NTUA Road Safety Observatory, based on European Commission CARE data for 2019, allows for performance comparisons for different types of road crashes. It is demonstrated that disaggregate data can reveal hidden road safety problems, allowing national Authorities to focus on targeted road safety countermeasures. 
The International Road Federation (IRF) organised with great success the IRF Annual Conference 2021, under the theme “Innovation: Charting Pathways to Sustainable Mobility” which was held on 20-21 October 2021. With fast-growing populations leading to significant urbanisation, the demand for new transport infrastructure is predicted to see massive growth in coming decades. The new challenges that the Conference focused on, were the increasing expectations of businesses, service users and the public and the need to reduce carbon emissions and waste.
The 2022 International Research Council on the Biomechanics of Injury Europe Conference was held with great success in Porto, Portugal, on 14-16 September 2022. Through scientific conferences, training courses and other activities, the IRCOBI Council provides an academically rigorous forum for dissemination of the latest research into injury causation and protective systems.
The 15th European Night Without Crashes was celebrated with great success on 16 October 2021 in most European countries. In Greece, the Road Safety Institute “Panos Mylonas” (RSI), EFTHITA Rhodes, AOLAP, KEDE, Road Traffic Police, OASA and other associations participated and supported the action, in order to raise awareness on the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol, aiming to a world without road fatalities. 
The EU-funded Horizon 2020 project Levitate (Societal Level Impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles) organised with great success a Webinar under the theme Policy interventions, which was held online, on 18 October. The Webinar provided insights on the potential impacts of introducing policy measures related to on-street parking repurposing, road-user pricing and dedicated CAV lanes. These policy interventions have been assessed using realistic traffic models in terms of their impacts on traffic, the environment (CO2, NOx and PM) and road safety.
The United Nations (UN) organised with great success the Second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference which took place in Beijing, on 14-16 October 2021. The Conference focused attention on the opportunities, challenges and solutions towards achieving sustainable transport worldwide. The programme of the Conference reflected the diversity and complexity of the transport sector and provided an opportunity for policy dialogue as well as forging partnerships and initiatives to advance sustainable transport.
ERTICO organised with great success the ITS World Congress which took place on 11-15 October 2021, in Hamburg, Germany under the theme “Experience Future Mobility Now“. Every year, ERTICO organises an ITS regional or World Congress in Europe. The Congresses are the yearly celebration of smart and safe mobility: they underline the importance of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), particularly in cities and regions where they are hosted, and are important channels to raise awareness of smart and safe mobility solutions among policy makers, experts and the general public. NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:
NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:
The network of thematic experts Vip4Ride organised with great success the 2nd International Conference which was held in Alexandroupolis, on 14-15 October, under the theme: “Intermodal Transports: Innovations in Planning, Management, Business Development & Decision Making” and focusing on the main economic advantages of developing intermodal transport, energy and tourism sectors. Special attention was given to decision making for investments and project financing in large infrastructures to promote intermodal options. NTUA actively contributed with the following presentations:
NTUA actively contributed with the following presentations:
iRAP in cooperation with the Regional Road Safety Observatories in Africa (ARSO), Asia-Pacific (APRSO), Ibero-America (OISEVI), Europe (ERSO) and West Balkans (WBRSO), organised with great success the 2021 iRAP Innovation Workshop which was held online, on 7 and 14 October. The Workshop took place under the theme “Data Driven Innovation to Halve Global Road Deaths by 2030” and it brought together global innovation, policy, technical and road safety leaders, along with investment experts, with the capacity to implement change and eliminate high-risk roads.
The Forum of European Road Safety Research Institutes (FERSI) organised with great success a Symposium titled: “Implementing evidence-based road safety measures, removing barriers and enhancing public support“, which was held online, on 14 October 2021. The Symposium had three presentations on vulnerable road users, speed and road safety management. Practitioners and decision makers who have been successful in implementing effective but sometimes controversial road safety measures shared their experiences. The symposium was a prelude to a physical conference on the same topic that will held in the autumn of 2022.
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly for road safety measures to reach zero deaths on EU roads by 2050. The vote was based on the EP Transport and Tourism Committee Report on Recommendations on next steps towards “Vision Zero”, which suggests key priorities and include key measures such as among others: 30km/h city speed limits, Zero-tolerance for drink-driving, the European Road Safety Agency, etc.
The European Platform of Transport Sciences (EPTS) organised with great success the 19th European Trasnport Conference which was held in Maribor, on 7-8 October 2021. The main themes of the Conference were smart urban traffic management for sustainable urban mobility and freight, digitalisation and automatization of urban mobility and freight, AI in mobility and logistics in urban areas and new organisational and business models for mobility and logistics.
The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety released its Good Practice Guide on Meaningful NGO Participation in the Field of Road Safety, demonstrating the unique and essential value of including NGOs in road safety decision making and implementation. The guide is a practical resource for NGOs and other civil society advocates. It describes steps that they can take to position themselves more effectively with their governments and to get their voices included in decision making.
The Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft (AHG) together with the london School of Economics (LSE) organised with great success the Athens Urban Age Task Force-Sustainable Transport and Walkability Workshop, online, on October 1st 2021. The Workshop focused on key areas of urban intervention such as public spaces, access and walkability and urban greening. NTUA contributed actively with the following presentation:
The Horizon 2020 research project SHOW (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption) organised with great success the 2nd Pan-European Workshop, titled “Which path for a meaningful, sustainable and feasible CCAM in Europe?”, which was held in Brussels and online, on 30 September 2021. In the workshop, speakers from European and national governmental bodies, industry, public authorities and academia shared concrete experiences from the SHOW project and other initiatives.
The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce in Greece organised with great success the 19th Corporate Responsibility Conference under the theme Citizen Sustain: Building a better urban future, which was held in Athens, on 30 September. The Conference aimed at setting the post-pandemic urban scene from a human-centric perspective and at driving policy-changing discussions in an inclusive collaboration among state, city authorities, business, and civil society, will feature four areas of discussion.
The Horizon 2020 research project SHOW organised with great success the Pre-Hackathon Workshop, which took place during the ITS World Congress, in Hamburg, on 12 October. The aim of this Workshop was to develop innovative solutions to increase user acceptance and user benefit of automated mobility, focusing on human assistance stand-by in case of problems, adapting capacity to increase in demand in a flexible way and accessibility and assistance for persons with reduced mobility.
The RADAR project within the framework of Interreg Danube Transnational Programme organised with great success the Final Conference under the theme: Striving for Safer Infrastructure for All Road Users in Danube Area, which was held in Slovenia and online, on 23 September. Concluding the three and a half years of joint efforts in road safety methodologies, policy, and practice integration, the project comes to an end and this Conference was an opportunity to undeline the need to work towards the implementation of both the United Nations and European Commission goals on road safety. NTUA contributed actively with the following presentation:
NTUA contributed actively with the following presentation:
The Sao Paulo State Department of Traffic, together with Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) organised with great success the 1st Decade of Action for UN Road Safety Webinar, which was held online on 21 September. It was an interesting discussion on the advances and challenges of road safety and mobility in Greece, Colombia and Buenos Aires. NTUA Professor George Yannis contributed the following key note presentation:
The IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society (ITSS) organised with great success the 24th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC) which was held in Indianapolis, on 19-22 September 2021. ITSC 2021 welcomed articles and presentations in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems, conveying new developments in theory, analytical and numerical simulation and modeling, experimentation, advanced deployment and case studies. NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:
NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:
