ΝRSO Road Safety Update - November 2020

EIB – Large Road Safety Scheme for Greece, November 2020 The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to support a EUR 470 million nationwide Scheme to reduce death and injury caused by traffic accidents across Greece.  NTUA had contributed to the economic analysis of this major road safety scheme. Over the next three years, national road operator Egnatia Odos will improve road safety at 7,000+ of the most dangerous sites, located across  11 Regions of Greece. The small scale safety schemes will include installation of traffic barriers, provision of anti-skid surfaces and improved warning signs and markings on roads identified as high-risk. Greek Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Kostas Karamanlis, stated that “improving road safety across Greece is a national priority and the EIB support will reduce significantly the risk of accidents at the Greek interurban road network”.

Latest Developments

EIB: Ten Multilateral Development Banks increase commitment to road safety, November 2020 On 16 November 2020, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and nine other multilateral development banks (MDBs) signed a high-level joint statement on road safety, under the auspices of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration.  The statement highlights the MDBs’ aim to provide further access to safe, affordable and sustainable transport systems for all and to improve road safety, with special attention to the needs of vulnerable road users.

World Bank GRSF – Low and Middle-Income Country Profiles for Road Safety Opportunities and Challenges, October 2020 The World Bank Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) has published a Guide, which gives a precise assessment on the magnitude and complexity of road safety challenges faced by Low and Middle Income Countries and assists policy makers understand the road safety framework in context of their own country systems and performance.  This valuable Guide responds to the critical need for collecting and documenting accurate road safety performance data.

Our Publications

IATSS – 6th Global Interactive Forum on Traffic and Safety, online, November 2020 The International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS) organised with great success the 6th Global Interactive Forum on Traffic & Safety which was held online on 26 November 2020. Researchers and practitioners at this symposium clarified the definition and measurement of “traffic culture” and explored its relationship with road user behaviour and traffic safety stakeholders actions. The results of these discussions are expected to pave the way for implementing more effective traffic safety measures in order of importance and urgency.   NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:  Global Diversity in Traffic Safety Culture

ECTRI – Thematic Group Meeting on Safety, online, November 2020 The European Conference of Transport Research Institutes (ECTRI) organized with great success the TG Safety & Security Meeting, which was held online on 30 November 2020.  NTUA actively contributed with the following presentations: Impact of COVID-19 on traffic safety behavior in Greece and worldwide Assessing the impact of personalized feedback on driving and riding behavior through a smartphone application

ETSC/HMIT – EU Road Safety Exchange Workshop for Greece, online, 2020 The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) together with the Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport under the auspices of the European Commission – DG Move, organised with great success the online EU Road Safety Exchange National Workshop for Greece on 24 November 2020. ‘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. Speeding and Powered Two Wheelers’ safety have been selected as priority road safety topics for Greece and best practices from France and Spain respectively on these topics were kindly presented by national experts, followed by thorough discussion.   Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Ioannis Kefalogiannis stated that: “Serious effort and international cooperation on key road safety problems can bring  important reduction of road casualties in Greece”. NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:  Powered Two Wheelers Safety Greece – State of play

Digital Road Safety Web-Lecture, NIT Warangal, November 2020 NTUA Professor George Yannis gave a Web-Lecture titled: “Road Safety Challenges in the Digital Era – Is Digitalisation Boosting Road Safety?” at the National Institute of Technology Warangal (NIT), India.  The Web-Lecture took place with great success on 27 November 2020 and it focused  on the new great potential of data from several digital sources to efficiently support both safe driver behaviour and road safety decision making at all levels (2020-2030).

LaHeRS – Road Safety Culture, Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Heraklion, online, 2020 The Laboratory of Health and Road Safety (LaHeRS) organised with great success an online Conference titled: “Road Safety Culture, Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow” on 20-21 November.  The Conference was addressed to teachers and all kinds of specialists who aim at promoting safe transportations.  New developments in the field of road safety culture were discussed followed by a fruitful discussion on innovative methods, modern tools and good practices in the education field.  NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:  Tourism and Road Accidents in Greece

Economic Assessment of Road Infrastructure Safety Schemes in Greece Using Crash Prediction Methodology, at the TRB 99th Annual Meeting, January 2020 A  paper titled “Economic Assessment of Road Infrastructure Safety Schemes in Greece Using Crash Prediction Methodology”, authored by G. Yannis, A. Dragomanovits, J. Roussou, D. Nikolaou, was presented at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 99th Annual Meeting, on January 2020.  This research presents a case study for the economic assessment of road safety schemes in crash prone locations in selected rural highways in Greece, using crash prediction models from the AASHTO Highway Safety Manual. The analysis results demonstrate the high impact of this large Road Safety Scheme.

Preferences towards e-scooters in Athens, July 2020 An NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Preferences towards e-scooters in Athens” was recently presented by Vasilis Maragkoudakis. The objective of this Diploma Thesis is to investigate the preferences towards e-scooters in Athens and to identify the most important factors affecting traveler modal choices in Athens. Logistic regression models were developed (multinomial and binary), which demonstrated that the probability of choosing an e-scooter depends largely on the cost, time, comfort, attitudes, habits and the demographic characteristics of the respondents. The faster and the more economical is the trip and the more familiar is the traveler with e-scooters is, the more likely he/she is to choose them over other means of transport.

Upcoming Events

ETSC PIN Talk: Improving goods vehicles safety in the EU, online, December 2020 The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) is organising an online PIN Talk titled “How to improve the safety of goods vehicles in the EU?“, which will be held on 14 December, 14:00-15:45 CET. The event will focus on the safety of goods vehicles in the EU, looking at goods vehicle safety but also the safety of goods vehicle drivers and all other road users.

ERF – Roadside Safety Event, on-line, December 2020 The European Union Road Federation (ERF) is organising a Roadside Safety Event which will be held on-line on 15 December 2020. Topics for this event include, but are not limited to: Standards EN 1317 & CE Marking, CPR and Road Restraint Systems, Barrier installation, BIM, Simulations, Motorcyclist Protection Systems.

SHOW – 1st Concertation Workshop, online, December 2020 The Horizon 2020 project SHOW (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption) will  organise the 1st Concertation Workshop, which will be held online on 16 December 2020, from 10.00am to 4.30pm CET. The workshop will focus on discussions about the planning of demonstrations for fleets of Automated Vehicles around Europe, concerning mainly road transport for both passengers and goods.

ITS Hellas – 6th Intelligent Transport Systems Conference, online, December, 2020 The “Hellenic Association for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems – ITS Hellas, will organise the 6th Intelligent Transport Systems and Developments in Greece Conference.  The Conference will be held online, on 14-15 December 2020 with the support of the European Commission Representation in Greece, focusing on issues related to European goals and national aspirations and efforts for the transition to a sustainable and “green” mobility.

FERSI – Road Safety Conference, Hague, October 2021 The Forum of European Road Safety Research Organisations (FERSI) is organising the 2021 Road Safety Conference which will take place on 28-29 October 2021 in Hague, Netherlands. The conference focuses on the exchange of national and regional experiences with implementing evidence-based road safety measures with specific focus on the road to successful implementation, including overcoming barriers and promising ways to facilitate decision making. Extended abstracts submission deadline: 15 February 2021