Ενημέρωση από το Εθνικό Μετσόβειο Πολυτεχνείο (NRSO Road Safety Update)

ITF – Artificial Intelligence in Road Infrastructure Safety Management, December 2021 The International Transport Forum (ITF) published a Report titled Artificial Intelligence in Proactive Road Infrastructure Safety Management, reflecting the discussions at a Round Table of Experts from 33 Organisations and 15 Countries, chaired by NTUA Prof. George Yannis. This Report examines and determines the most relevant cases for Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in a transport planning context for accident prevention on an entire road network and it explores the possibility of using computer vision to acquire relevant information and the capability of modelling and mapping high-risk locations. It also offers recommendations to stakeholders on the development and appropriate use of lifesaving AI solutions.

Latest Developments

European Commission – Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy Plan, December 2021 The European Commission presented its ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy’ together with an Action Plan of 82 initiatives as a guide for the next four years. This strategy lays the foundation for how the EU transport system can achieve its green and digital transformation and become more resilient to future crises. Traffic safety is a major component of the EU Mobility Strategy. As outlined in the European Green Deal, the result will be a 90% cut in emissions by 2050, delivered by a smart, competitive, safe, accessible and affordable transport system.

ETSC – Reducing road deaths among young people 41st PIN Flash Report, October 2021 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.

HMIT – Open Consultation for the National Road Safety Strategic Plan, December 2021 In the framework of the development of the National Road Safety Strategic Plan for the period 2021-2030, the Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has launched a wide and organized Open Consultation with all road safety stakeholders. This Plan is being developed with the scientific support of the Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering of NTUA and aims to reduce the number of road fatalities and serious injuries by 50% by 2030.  Any citizen or stakeholder can be informed and actively participate in the Open Consultation through the dedicated website:

HMIT – New “Driving Safely” Law, November 2021 The Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport proposed the New Driving Safely Law, which has been recently adopted by the Greek Parliament. The new law reforms the driving examinations’ framework, with the priority of ensuring the integrity of the procedure and the promotion of road safety. Among other things, the new safety net consists of double identity checks, camera recordings during the exams and collection of the audiovisual reports. Also, a temporary driving license is foreseen for young people aged 17 years old, who will be able to drive only within their residence area accompanied with a co-driver of over 25 years old holding a driving license for at least 5 years.

Statistics Corner

European Commission – Traffic fatalities collision matrix in the EU, November 2021 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 trucks, and the need to increase the protection of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. EU policies are already evolving in this direction with the new mandatory safety measures introduced by the General Safety Regulation focussed on VRUs.

Fatalities by Road Crash Type – Ranking of European Union Member States, 2019 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.

Our Publications

POLIS – Polis Annual Conference, Gothenburg, December 2021 POLIS, the European Cities Network, organised with great success the 2021 Annual Polis Conference, which took place on 1-2 December 2021 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Conference provided an opportunity for cities and regions to showcase their transport achievements to a large audience of mobility experts, practitioners and decision makers. With a focus on innovation, sustainability and co-creation, Gothenburg hosted one of Europe’s most dynamic clusters within the field of mobility and safety.   NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:  The Levitate Connected and Automated Transport Systems Policy Support Tool

Vip4Ride – 2nd International Conference, Alexandroupolis, October 2021 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:  Impact of driver feedback on behavior and safety through a smartphone application  Investigating gaps in electromobility: The case of Region of Attica  Testing a mobile routing application focusing on usability and user experience

Investigation of the speeding behavior of motorcyclists through an innovative smartphone application, June 2021 A paper titled “Investigation of the speeding behavior of motorcyclists through an innovative smartphone application“, authored by Armira Kontaxi, Apostolos Ziakopoulos and George Yannis is published in Traffic Injury Prevention.  Using risk exposure and riding behavior indicators calculated from smartphone sensor data, Generalized Linear Mixed-Effects Models are calibrated to correlate the percentage of riding time over the speed limit with other riding behavior indicators. Results indicate that the parameters of trip duration, distance driven during risky hours, morning peak hours and the number of harsh accelerations are all determined as statistically significant and positively correlated with the percentage of speeding time. Additionally, the provision of rider feedback and riding during afternoon peak hours are statistically significant and correlated with decreased percentages of speeding time.

Modelling self-reported driver perspectives and fatigued driving via deep learning, November 2021 A paper titled “Modelling self-reported driver perspectives and fatigued driving via deep learning” authored by Alexandros Zoupos, Apostolos Ziakopoulos and George Yannis is published in Traffic Safety Research.  A binary logistic regression model was trained to provide causal insights on which variables affect the likelihood that a driver engaged in driving while fatigued, whereas a Deep Neural Network (DNN) was subsequently trained on the data, slightly outperforming the binary logistic model. Results demonstrate that drivers reporting driving under the influence of drugs, fatigue, or alcohol, as well as speeding, safety, and texting while driving or drivers who were more acceptable of fatigued driving were more likely to have recently driven while fatigued, and from the results of this paper it was concluded that declared fatigued driving behavior can be predicted from questionnaire data, providing new insights to fatigue detection.

Comparative analysis of road safety factors across generations, in Greece, July 2021 An NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Comparative analysis of road safety factors across generations, in Greece” was recently presented by Reggina Mermiga. From the application of Log-Linear regression models it emerges that the number of road casualties follows a rising trend in the transition from the older to the younger generations, which presumably can be attributed to increased mobility of younger generations. Additionally, most car crash victims between the ages of 26 and 64 belong to Generation X while those involved in a two-wheeled vehicle accident belong to Generation Y, most probably due to the fact that the members of the two generations are connected to different financial periods but also to the tendency of the members of Generation Y to experience delays in their transition to the following stages of their life.

Upcoming Events

QTTSC/QU/NTSC – International Traffic Safety Conference, March 2022, Doha The Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Center (QTTSC), the Qatar University and the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) are organising the International Traffic Safety Conference (ITSC2022) which will take place in Doha, on 21-22 March 2022. The Conference theme is: “Towards A World-Class Safe and Sustainable Transport and Traffic System for Developing Countries” and the main objectives are to recognize the transportation needs for the developing countries and to introduce, improve and strengthen arrangements for monitoring serious injuries from road traffic accidents to facilitate action to meet the new targets for the Decade of Action for Road Safety. Abstract submissions deadline: 15 January 2022

ESRA2 – International Conference on Traffic Safety Culture and Performance Indicators, Paris, April 2022 The ESRA2 Group (E-Survey of Road Users’ Attitudes) together with IFSTTAR/Universite Gustave Eiffel are organising the International Conference on Traffic Safety Culture and Performance Indicators that will take place in Paris, on 20-22 April 2022. The Conference will be an opportunity to learn from in-depth scientific analyses of the ESRA databases, in relation to different types of road users and different aspects of attitudes, behaviour and culture and highlight key road safety problems and solutions.

NTUA – Road Safety and Simulation International Conference, Athens, June 2022 The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), in cooperation with the Hellenic Institute of Transportation Engineers (HITE) organises the 8th Road Safety & Simulation International Conference 2022 (RSS2022) which will be held on 8-10 June 2022 in Athens, Greece. The Conference’s theme this year will be: “Road Safety and Digitalisation” aiming to capture all recent trends in road safety emerging technologies, surrogate measures, augmented and virtual reality, big data, modeling and simulation, which are expected to boost global road safety in the coming years. Road safety experts and scientists from all over the world will join forces for a widely open and vivid discussion on both traditional and innovative solutions with high potential for traffic safety improvement. Selected papers will be published in key international scientific journals and special awards will be granted to best papers. Full paper submission deadline extended to December 31st, 2021.

FERSI – Road Safety Conference, Hague, October 2022 The Forum of European Road Safety Research Organisations (FERSI) is organising the 2022 Road Safety Conference which will take place on 6-7 October 2022 in Hague, Netherlands. This highly interesting Conference focuses on the exchange of national and regional experiences and implemented evidence-based road safety measures, both positive and negative ones. There will be a specific focus on the road to successful implementation, including overcoming the barriers encountered along the way.  Contribution submission deadline: 13 February 2022