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NTUA Thomaidion Award to NTUA Road Safety Researchers, 2019

Akis Theofilatos, Dimosthenis Pavlou, Dimitris Tselentis, and Apostolis Ziakopoulos, Research Associates of the Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering of NTUA were awarded with the NTUA Thomaidion Award for outstanding road safety publications in scientific journals. The awards for publications in Scientific Journals concerned:

Theofilatos A., Yannis G., Investigation of powered 2-wheeler accident involvement in urban arterials by considering real-time traffic and weather data, Traffic Injury Prevention, Volume 18(3), April 2017, Pages 293-298
Pavlou D. – Beratis I.N., Papadimitriou E., Andronas N., Kontaxopoulou D., Fragkiadaki S., Yannis G., Papageorgiou S.G. Mild Cognitive Impairment and driving: Does in-vehicle distraction affect driving performance?, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 103, June 2017, Pages 148-155
Tselentis D., Yannis G., Vlahogianni E., Innovative motor insurance schemes: A review of current practices and emerging challenges, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 98, January 2017, Pages 139-148
Theofilatos A., Ziakopoulos Α., Papadimitriou Ε., Yannis G., Diamandouros K., Meta-analysis of the effect of road work zones on crash occurrence, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 108, November 2017, Pages 1-8

NTUA Dpt of Transportation Planning and Engineering ranked 16th in Europe 2019

The Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) was ranked 16th in Europe and at 80th place worldwide among all Transportation Science & Technology Schools, according to the ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2019. NTUA Road Safety activities have contributed to this excellent performance. Accordingly, the NTUA Civil Engineering School was ranked 7th worldwide (3rd European) among all Civil Engineering Schools.

EC – Sustainable Transport Infrastructure Charging, 2019

The European Commission – DG Move has published a study titled “Sustainable Transport Infrastructure Charging and Internalisation of Transport Externalities” which aims to assess the extent to which existing policies internalise the external and infrastructure costs of transport and to discuss ways by which further internalisation could be achieved. As input for this assessment, the infrastructure and external costs of the various transport modes are estimated and a comprehensive overview of transport taxes and charges applied in the various countries is provided. According to the study results, the most important cost category is accident costs equating to 29% of the total external costs, which on the contrary of most other costs it is not targeted by any taxes or charges aiming its reduction.

ESRA – Road Users Attitudes Worldwide Symposium, Brussels, 2019

The ESRA Consortium with the support of the Forum of European Road Safety Institutes (FERSI) organised the 2nd ESRA Symposium on Road Users Attitudes Worldwide, which took place with great success in Brussels, on 18 June 2019. New highly interesting results from the ESRA2 Global Survey on Road Users Attitudes, collected at the end of 2018, were showcased, namely thematic reports on speeding, mobile phone use and fatigue together with 32 country fact sheets . NTUA contributed actively with the following presentations:

Thematic report: Driver Fatigue
Country Fact Sheets

EU Road Safety Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) towards “Vision Zero”, 2019

The European Commission – DG Move has published a Staff Working Document titled “EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 – Next steps towards “Vision Zero” which includes details as to how it intends to put its Strategic Action Plan on Road Safety into practice . This Document includes a first list of Road Safety Key Performance Indicators (KPI), elaborated in close cooperation with Member States and the active contribution of NTUA, that will be monitored across the EU to underpin the target of 50% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries by 2030. The list (including indicators like vehicle safety, seat belt and helmet wearing rate, speed compliance and post-crash care) is a living document that will be developed further over time, but first data can be gathered on this basis from next year.

ETSC – 13th Annual Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) Report, Brussels, 2019

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) published the 13th edition of PIN Annual Report , with the active contribution of NTUA, presented at the 2019 Annual PIN Conference which took place with great success on 19 June, 2019 in Brussels. According to this PIN Report, the new European figures show that the number of persons killed last year fell by just 1% and the EU target to cut road deaths in half over the decade to 2020 looks well out of reach.

Ireland was the winner of this year’s ETSC Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) award, being the second safest EU Member State in 2018, in terms of road mortality (road deaths per million inhabitants) and having moved up five places in the ranking of EU countries since 2010 when it held the 7th place.

Levitate Newsletter – Societal Impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles, 2019

The 1st newsletter of the Horizon 2020 project Levitate was recently released highlighting the key activities of the first 6 months of the project. It contains an inspiring interview with Rune Elvik, Senior research officer at TØI, suggesting that any progress in Connected and Automated Transport cannot eliminate the human factor. Furthermore, it highlights the results from the first Workshop of the Levitate Stakeholder Group in Gothenburg on May 2019 and of the respective presentation of Levitate project at the scientific Workshop organized by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) on ‘Digitalisation and Road Safety Research’ in Athens on May 2019.

EC/HMT – EU Road Safety Exchange Meeting, Athens, 2019

The European Commission – DG Move and the Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport organised the kick-off meeting of the project ‘EU Road Safety Exchange’ which took place with great success in Athens, on 10 June 2019. ‘EU Road Safety Exchange’ is a three-year twinning project (2019-2021) that supports improved institutional capacity and exchange of knowledge and best practice on road safety topics between EU Member States. The objective of this project is to reduce the overall number of road deaths and serious injuries on EU roads and help close the road safety gap between EU Member States by providing support to those with the highest potential to make significant improvements. NTUA actively contributed at the kick-off meeting with the following presentation: Motorcycle Safety in Greece

L. Carnis, C. Gabaude, M. Gallenne – La sécurité routière en France, 2019

A new book titled ‘La sécurité routière en France – Road Safety in France‘ authored by Laurent Carnis, Catherine Gabaude and Marie-Line Gallenne, was published in May 2019. Since the 1970s, road accidents have undergone a remarkable evolution, which has led to fewer fatalities and fewer casualties on French roads. But the accidents remain too numerous and still defeat the chronicles. Greater road safety justifies measures that give rise to lively discussions where everyone claims to be an expert. This book guides the reader through themes such as trauma victims, alcohol or drugs driving.

Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities, Tampa, 2020

The 2020 Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities was held on March 15-17 in Tampa, Florida. The Lifesavers Conference brought together a unique combination of traffic safety and public health professionals, researchers, advocates, practitioners and students committed to sharing best practices, research and policy initiatives that are proven to work.

TTU – Vision Zero for Sustainable Road Safety in the Baltic Sea Region, Tallinn, 2019

Tallinn University of Technology (TTU) organised with great success the 2nd Conference “Vision Zero for Sustainable Road Safety in the Baltic Sea Region 2019” which took place in Tallinn, Estonia, on 4 – 5 December 2019. This Conference was a fantastic opportunity for academicians and practitioners to meet and exchange experiences and to learn from the best within road safety including policy, road infrastructure, behavioural aspects and human factors, innovations of vehicles and transportation modes, individual, organizational and political aspects of road safety.

Safety Culture among Private and Professional Drivers in Norway and Greece, 2019

A paper titled “Safety Culture among Private and Professional Drivers in Norway and Greece: Examining the Influence of National Road Safety Culture” authored by Tor-Olav Nævestad, Alexandra Laiou, Ross O. Phillips, Torkel Bjørnskau and George Yannis is now published in Safety Journal. This study investigates road safety culture (RSC) as an explanation for this discrepancy by: (1) Comparing the road safety behaviours among professional and private drivers in Norway and Greece, (2) Examining factors influencing road safety behaviours, focusing especially on national road safety culture, and (3) Examining the influence of road safety behaviours and other factors (e.g., demographic and work-related variables) on accident involvement. The results indicate that aggressive violations are more similar among private and professional drivers within the national samples, than across the national samples, while seat belt use seems to vary according to the professional versus private dimension.

ETSC – How to improve urban road safety in the EU (PIN Flash 37), 2019

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published the 37th PIN Flash Report “How to improve urban road safety in the EU“, with the active contribution of NTUA. This Report analyses the latest data urban road safety across the EU and other countries that form part of the ETSC Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme, and it conclude with more than twenty main recommendations for action at EU. It is highlighted that the problems can be addressed with the right political leadership, resources and energy. But while the EU, national governments and other actors can help provide the knowledge, finance and guidelines to implement the necessary changes, it will often be up to local authorities to implement them effectively. A comprehensive infographic depicts current urban road safety in Europe, with Pedestrians, Motorcyclists and Cyclists accounting for 70% of all urban road fatalities.

VSV – European Road Safety Summer School, Mechelen, 2019

Vlaamse Stichting Verkeerskunde (VSV) in cooperation with Flanders, Road Safety GB, UHasselt, ETSC and Polis organized a European Road Safety Summer School which took place with great success in Mechelen, Belgium, on 26-30 August 2019, targeting road safety professionals. The schedule of the Summer School for these 5 days included key topics on: a) road safety vision and strategy, b) education, awareness raising and infrastructure, c) technologies, enforcement and integrated policy, d) technical site visits.

WCTRS – World Conference on Transport Research, Mumbai, 2019

The 15th World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR) which was organized by the WCTRS and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) took place with great success on 26-31 May, 2019 at Mumbai, India. For the last 40 years, WCTR has been organised every three years by the WCTR Society. WCTR allowed sharing cutting-edge research and advanced state-of-practice and provided a unique opportunity for experts to exchange ideas in all areas of transport research including Traffic Safety Analysis and Policy (C4 Special Interest Group). NTUA contributed with nine presentations:

Investigating the Correlation between Driver’s Characteristics and Safety Performance
Investigation of the correlation between stated and revealed driving behaviour using data collected from on-board diagnostics (OBD) devices
Driving speed model development using driving data obtained from smartphone sensors
Hybrid Data Envelopment Analysis for Large-Scale Smartphone Data Modeling
How unexpected events affect lateral position variability?
Impacts of large urban regeneration projects: The case of the new Athens Intercity Bus Terminal
Development a Sustainable Mobility Action Plan for University Campuses
Future trends in transport workforce based on demographic, behavioural, cultural and socioeconomic factors
Identifying infrastructure risk factors in Africa

Bad weather and driving

Weather is an environmental risk factor that affects collision and casualty rates. Weather conditions partly determine the road conditions and the driver’s behaviour. Bad weather encompasses: fog or mist, rain, snow, sleet, hail, strong wind, and high temperatures. In Europe, 1,4% of total fatalities are due to fog or mist, 8,6% by rain, 0,8% by snow, sleet or hail, 0,6% by strong wind (European Commission – Annual Accident Report, 2018).

Why driving in bad weather is dangerous?

Effects of bad weather:

Vehicle contact with the road. The more rain, snow, or hail falls, the less the friction of the road surface (lower ability to brake and control the vehicle).
Reduction in visibility of the road and other road users, because of the fog or the reflection of the sunlight by the wet road surface
Behavioural changes such as more cautious driving
Gusts of wind can push relatively high vehicles
Emotions rise with the temperature, people are more irritable to others, they get tired, lose their concentration, and their reaction time increases

Key Recommendations

There is a clear need for drivers to improve their behaviour in bad weather conditions. How?

Fog

Maintain a significant distance between you and the car in front of you!
Use your turn signals early! Give cars behind you plenty of notice that you’ll be slowing down to make a turn.
Use the white line on the right side of the road! This will help guide you and keep you in your lane.
Turn on your fog lights both for the front and the rear side of your vehicle.

Rain

Keep a good distance from the car in front of you! Having to slam on your brakes can result in skidding. It takes longer to stop when driving in wet weather.
Turn on your headlights! They will not only help you see, but will make sure you’re visible to other drivers.
Drive in the middle lanes! Water is more likely to pool on the outer edges of the road.
Try and avoid puddles. Driving over puddles of water can cause your car to hydroplane out of control. It’s helpful to drive in the tracks of the car in front of you.
Defog your windows! Use the front and rear defrosters to maximize visibility.

Snow/Ice

Consider snow tires! Tires are an essential factor in winter driving because they keep your car firmly connected to the road.
Know your brakes! Your car will perform differently in the snow than it would on a dry road.
Keep Rolling! Don’t stop on ice or snow if you can avoid it
Take corners slowly! Give yourself plenty of time to slow down before turning.
Accelerate gradually! Your tires are likely to spin in place if you try to accelerate too quickly.
Beware of black ice! Black ice – a thin layer of transparent ice on a roadway – can cause your car to spin out and you can quickly lose control.

Lifesaving value of the seat-belt

Seat belts are an effective way of reducing the number or road deaths and severe road injuries in crashes. According to the 2018 WHO Global status report on road safety, wearing a seat-belt reduces the risk of a fatality among front seat passengers by 40-50% and among rear-seat passengers by 25-75%. Failure to wear a seat belt is the 2^nd biggest cause of road death, after speeding but ahead of drink-driving. European Commission suggests that action targeting the use of seat belts could save up to 7.300 lives a year in the EU.

Effects of wearing a seat belt

Not wearing a seat belt can result in being totally ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly.
The air bag can seriously injure or even kill you if you’re not wearing a seat belt. Air bags are designed to work with seat belts, not replace.

Why not wearing a seat-belt is dangerous?

Passengers who are not wearing seat-belts at the time of a collision account for the majority of occupant road traffic fatalities. Seat belts are the best defense against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers. Being buckled up during a crash helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle.

Guidelines to buckle up safely

The lap belt and shoulder belt are secured across the pelvis and rib cage, which are better able to withstand crash forces than other parts of your body.
Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
The lap belt rests across your hips, not your stomach.
NEVER put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.

Key Recommendations

There is a clear need for drivers to remember to wear their seat belt. How?

Buckle up! No excuses…
Listen! Most cars signal the driver and passengers to buckle up when the key is put into the ignition
You must wear a seat belt either you are not going far or not traveling fast, most fatal crashes happen within 25 miles of home at speeds of less than 60 km/h.
If you drive an older or classic car with lap belts only, check with your vehicle manufacturer about how to retrofit your car with today’s safer lap/shoulder belts.

Mobile phone use and driving

Distracted drivers aren’t just a threat to themselves: they’re a danger to everyone else on the road. The mobile phone is symbolic of ‘distraction in traffic’. Texting (and navigating on the phone) is the most alarming distraction. Since our mental capacity is limited, we can only pay attention to a part of our environment. A road user should first and foremost be focused on traffic. Distracted driving encompasses: Reading and sending text messages and typing or updating a social network site

Effects of distracted driving

Worse braking reaction time
Worse reaction to traffic signals
Difficulty in keeping the correct lane
Difficulty in keeping the correct headway distance
Drivers zigzag more

Why distracted driving is dangerous?

Drivers using mobile phones are approximately 4 times more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers not using a mobile phone. Using a cell phone while driving creates enormous potential for deaths and injuries on roads. Distraction affects a number of essential aspects of driving skills. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 80kph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.

More texting = higher probability of a crash

Driver more likely to lose control
Less time to take preventive action
Less accurately reaction to deceleration by the driver in front
Difficulty in keeping their lane

Key Recommendations

There is a clear need for drivers to avoid using their mobile phones while driving. How?

Turn your cell on “silent” (and keep vibrate off)!
Keep the phone out of sight and reach! Having the volume and vibrate feature off may not be enough.
Completely turn your cell phone off!
Pull over and stop if it is important to answer a call!
Parents lead by example – It’s not an age or experience issue, it is a safety and distracted driving issue!

Stay awake on the road

The concepts of “fatigue”, “sleepiness” and “drowsiness” are often used interchangeably. Sleepiness is an aspect of fatigue which is perhaps easiest to define. Sleepiness can be defined as the neurobiological need to sleep[1], resulting from physiological wake and sleep drives[2]. Driving fatigue is associated with increased crash risk which often results from a combination of biological, lifestyle-related and work-related factors. Crashes in which driver fatigue plays a role are not only a matter of having spent too long behind the wheel; fatigue can also be caused by too little sleep, stress, or the time of the day.

Fatigue has a physical and a mental aspect.
Fatigue is associated with both reduced capacity to perform and motivation to perform.
Although sleepiness and fatigue may have different causes, their effects on performance and motivation are similar, a decrease in mental and physical functioning.
When fatigued, persons may alternate normal functioning with short lapses in performance (i.e. not noticing or responding to signals). The long term result of fatigue is an increasing variability of performance.

Why fatigue is dangerous?

Driving fatigue is a major factor in 10-20% of road crashes. A person who drives after being awake for 17 hours has a risk of crashing equivalent to being at the level of 0.05 blood alcohol concentration (i.e. twice the normal risk).

More tired/sleepy = higher probability of a crash

Increase of the task demands (e.g. driving faster so that a ‘new’ sensation of driving raises adrenaline and attention levels)
Reduction of the task demands (e.g. increase of the safety margins by slowing down or using longer headways)
Driver more likely to lose control
Less time to take preventive action
Less accurately reaction to deceleration by the driver in front
Difficulty in keeping the vehicle in the lane

Key Recommendations

There is a clear need for drivers to avoid driving fatigue. How?

Avoid driving at times when you would normally be asleep!
The moment fatigue sets in, do not start driving or continue driving!
Take a nap or ask a passenger to take over the driving task!
Allow fresh air into the car (by opening the window or switching on the air conditioning)
Talk to a passenger!
Stop driving for some food or exercise!
Turn up the volume of the music!

[1] NCSCR/NHTSA Expert panel on driver fatigue and sleepiness (2001) Drowsy driving and automobile crashes

[2] Johns, M.W. (2000) A sleep physiologist’s view of drowsy driving. Transportation Research Part F, 3, pp. 241-249

Speeding kills

Speeding is considered as the most important road crash factor. It is a key factor in around 30% of fatal road accidents. Some 40-50% of drivers drive faster than the recommended speed limit and 10-20% exceed the limit by more than 10kph. Not only does speeding make you more likely to crash, it also increases the likelihood of severe injuries or death from an accident (European Commission, 2019). Speeding encompasses: Excessive speed (driving above the speed limit) and Inappropriate speed (driving too fast for the conditions, but within the limits). The main effects of speeding are:

Excessive or inappropriate speed contributes to about one third of all fatal accidents
The level of exhaust emissions, fuel consumption and noise increase with speed
Speed effects the quality of life of urban residents, especially the safe mobility of VRU

Why speeding is dangerous?

Speeding leads to a greater impact in the event of a crash, which results in more serious injuries and fatalities. Moreover, when driving at higher speeds there is significantly less time to process information and react on time, and the braking distance is also longer, which reduces the possibility of avoiding a collision.

Higher speed = higher probability of a crash

Longer distance travelled during driver perception / reaction time
Longer distance travelled during emergency braking
Driver more likely to lose control
Less time to take preventive action
Driver errors magnified
Other road users more likely to misjudge speed

Higher speed = more serious injuries

Injury results from transfer of energy from moving vehicle to bodily structures
Kinetic energy relative to mass and velocity
Higher speed = greater kinetic energy
Greater kinetic energy = greater injury
Unprotected road users are most vulnerable

Key Recommendations

There is a clear need for drivers to improve their speeding behaviour. How?

Slow down! Obey speed limits at all times!
In urban areas, slow down even more! There are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists which are vulnerable road users.
Remember that speed limits are a limit, not a target speed!
If you feel pressured by other road users to drive faster than the stated speed limit, move over, go to the right and allow them to pass!
Keep right lanes when you are slower than other vehicles!
Coordinate with traffic by adjusting your speed; Don’t drive either too faster or too slower than the other vehicles.
Be alert! Keep the appropriate speed for the current road and traffic conditions (work-zones, adverse weather conditions etc.).
Give speeding drivers plenty of space. Speeding drivers may lose control of their vehicle more easily.
Adjust your attitude! Avoid aggressive driving!
Plan better and allow more time for your trips, in order not to race the clock!

ITF – New Directions for Data-Driven Transport Safety Report, 2019

The International Transport Forum (ITF/OECD) published recently a new Report: “New Directions for Data-Driven Transport Safety”, with the active contribution of NTUA. This Report explores how seamless data collection, analysis and sharing can unlock innovations in transport safety. Very often most interventions to improve transport safety are reactions to incidents. However lately, connected vehicles, smartphone apps, ubiquitous sensors, data sharing and machine learning make proactive transport safety interventions possible and prevent crashes before they happen. Drawing on the Safe System approach, this Report examines how transport stakeholders can make better decisions by using more relevant and timely new safety data.

George Yannis was awarded the prestigious Francqui Chair in Belgium, 2019

NTUA Professor George Yannis was recently awarded the prestigious Francqui Chair 2019, as proposed by Hasselt University. The Francqui Chair is awarded every year by the Francqui Foundation to eminent academics which are promoting the development of higher education and scientific research in Belgium.

Inaugural Lecture (19 March 2019): Road safety challenges in the digital era – Is digitalisation boosting road safety?
Second Lecture (27 March 2019): Road Safety Data Analysis – From Correlation to Causation and Policy Support
Third Lecture (21 May 2019): Best Practice on Road Infrastructure Safety Management
Forth Lecture (23 May 2019): Automation and Safety

Make Roads Safe Hellas – International Tourism and Road Safety in Greece, 2019

Make Roads Safe Hellas in collaboration with the National Technical University of Athens, the University of Macedonia, the University of the Aegean, the Hellenic Open University and EASST, released a report titled: “International Tourism and Road Safety in Greece, Country Report 2019”. Make Roads Safe Hellas is a Non-Profit Organisation promoting road safety in Greece which hopes to gain momentum from their study and build support for the establishment of a Safe Tourism Network to ensure that road safety for tourists and travellers is given adequate attention, not just in Greece but across the globe. The Report is based on a survey of almost 1,500 international tourists visiting Athens, Chania, and Thessaloniki in 2018, as well on recent accident statistics from ELSTAT.

NTUA – Digitalisation and Road Safety Research Workshop, Athens 2019

NTUA within the framework of the Fifth UN Global Road Safety Week organized a Scientific Workshop titled “Digitalisation and Road Safety Research” which took place with great success on 17 May 2019 in Athens. This Workshop attempted to shed light into the role and the challenges of digitalisation on road safety, through an intensive flow of state-of-the-art presentations of key NTUA road safety research projects and a vivid Expert Panel discussion on new perspectives and horizons of road safety in the digital era in Europe and worldwide. Workshop presentations concerned:

The NTUA Road Safety Observatory – Nrso
Driver needs and behaviour in automated traffic – Drive2theFuture
Societal impacts of connected and automated vehicles – Levitate
Smartphone exploitation for event spatial analysis & mapping-Sesame
Data science techniques for driving behaviour evaluation – OSeven
Smartphone applications for driver safety behaviour support – BeSmart
Driver-vehicle-environment interactions and safety tolerance – i-Dreams
The African Road Safety Observatory – SaferAfrica
The road safety center of Saudi Arabia– RscKsa
Measuring risk exposure in Ireland – IrlExpo
Open science in road safety – BeOpen
Big data for road safety – ForSafety
Monitoring road safety culture – SafeCulture
Monitoring road safety attitudes globally – Esra
Cycling under the influence of alcohol and drugs – Velivr
Safety skills of future transportation professionals – Skillful
Actions to improve drivers’ safety behavior – SafeBehave
Economic analysis of road infrastructure safety projects – EibCba
Modelling crash modification factors globally – i-safemodels
Safety implications from electromobility – e-mopoli

Panel Discussion

CITA – The future of transport: The challenge of new technologies for road safety, Brussels, 2019

The International Motor Vehicle Inspection Committee (CITA), under the patronage of Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, organized an event under the theme: “The future of transport: The challenge of new technologies for road safety“. The event took place with great success in Brussels, Belgium, on 16 May 2019, at Autoworld: Parc du Cinquantenaire. Without doubt vehicle safety is one of the key pillars of an integrated EU road safety strategy. A discussion was made on how to improve road safety and the challenges for the testing and certification of new technologies and components, in order to make them safe and secure during the complete life cycle.

5th International Conference on Vehicle Technology and ITS (VEHITS), Heraklion 2019

The 5th International Conference on Vehicle Technology and Intelligent Transport Systems (VEHITS) took place with great success in Heraklion, Crete, on 3-5 May 2019. The purpose of VEHITS 2019 was to bring together engineers, researchers and practitioners interested in the advances and applications in the field of Vehicle Technology and Intelligent Transport Systems. This conference focused on innovative applications, tools and platforms in all technology areas such as signal processing, wireless communications, informatics and electronics, related to different kinds of vehicles, including cars, off-road vehicles, trains, ships, underwater vehicles, or flying machines, and the intelligent transportation systems that connect and manage large numbers of vehicles, not only in the context of smart cities but in many other application domains.

Safety assessment of control design parameters through vehicle dynamics model, 2019

A paper titled “Safety assessment of control design parameters through vehicle dynamics model” authored by Stergios Mavromatis, Alexandra Laiou, and George Yannis is now published in Accident Analysis and Prevention. An existing vehicle dynamics model was utilized to define design parameters up to which steady state cornering conditions apply and consequently lift the restrictions of the point mass model. Aiming to assess critical safety concerns in terms of vehicle skidding, the motion of a passenger car was examined over a range of design speed values paired with control design elements from AASHTO 2011 Design Guidelines as well as certain values of poor pavement friction coefficients. For full text just ask us by replying to this email.

28th Meeting of the International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group (IRTAD), Paris, 2019

The International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group (IRTAD) of the International Transport Forum (ITF) organised a Meeting in Paris, France, on 2 April 2019, in which the latest international road safety developments were discussed. NTUA contributed actively with the following presentation:

Outcome of the ITF-CPB Workshop on “New Directions for Data Driven Transport Safety

ERTRAC – Safe Road Transport Roadmap, 2019

The European Road Transport Research Advisory Council (ERTRAC) has published the “Safe Road Transport Roadmap – Towards Vision Zero: Roads without Victims”, with the active contribution of NTUA. The main objective of this ERTRAC roadmap is to provide a joint stakeholder view on the road safety research needs in Europe. The roadmap is based on the current state of the art and the identified challenges to reach the ambitious goals set for the EU. In this roadmap, ERTRAC proposes a set of eleven high priority road safety research and innovation needs, which should be implemented by providing ample room for citizens and road users themselves to engage.

ETSC – REVIVE Conference: Identifying good practice in emergency response in Europe, 2019

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) organized the REVIVE Conference which took place with great success in Brussels, on 18 June 2019. This conference brought together road safety practitioners and legislators, and those working in the fire and rescue and emergency medical systems. It provided an opportunity to learn more about the work of the REVIVE project and to discuss good practice in the emergency response across Europe. The aim of the REVIVE project was to map Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Rescue and Fire Service (RFS) practices in the EU28 and raise the profile of both EMS and RFS on the national and European political agendas.