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 George Yannis

 

 

WHO – 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety – Declaration & Recommendations, Marrakech, February 2025 The World Health Organisation (WHO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Transports and Logistics of Morocco organized with great success the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety which was held at Marrakech, Morocco, on 18-20 February 2025. This Conference with theme "Committed to Life", brought leaders and experts together to assess the progress made in implementing the Global Plan 2021-2030 during its initial five-year period and to generate support for the new vision of safe and sustainable mobility.  The Ministers signed the Road Safety Declaration, reaffirming their collective commitment to ensuring that road safety becomes a universal priority, guided by the principles of equity, accessibility, and sustainability, and leaving no one behind.  The Academic Expert Group compiled a set of Recommendations to overcome the current compartmentalization of road safety responsibility that leads to road safety action, being delegated primarily and exclusively to Governments.

Latest Developments

ITF – Road Safety in Action: The Safe System Tool, February 2025 The International Transport Forum (ITF) has recently published its new Safe System Tool, with the active contribution of NTUA, which offers a user-friendly interface to navigate through the International Transport Forum's framework for implementing a Safe System. The Tool helps road safety stakeholders to evaluate how their strategies, projects or plans contribute to a Safe System, since it visualises opportunities for improvement and helps to identify effective interventions to save lives.

ITF/WHO – Global Framework for Corporate Road Safety Action, February 2025 The International Transport Forum (ITF) together with the World Health Organization (WHO), recently launched “The Global Road Safety Assessment Framework for Corporate Action and Reporting” to support businesses in integrating robust road safety practices into their operations and value chains and thereby contribute to the global effort to reduce road traffic fatalities and injuries. The development of this Framework was initiated in response to a call from Transport Ministers representing over 60 countries to enhance road safety practices across corporate value chains and align them with the Global Plan for the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, by incorporating key standards and guidelines.

Global Alliance NGOs – Making Helmets a Reality for All: White Paper, February 2025 The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety recently published a White Paper based on global best practices, in consultation with Alliance member NGOs, ensuring safe motorcycle helmets through appropriate laws, enforcement, and promotion. Through this White Paper, the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety and its over 395 member NGOs from more than 100 countries, will assist Governments achieve the reduction of road fatalities and injuries needed to accomplish the vision of having zero road deaths and injuries by 2030.

Global Alliance NGOs – Safe Mobility Snapshots, February 2025 The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety recently launched their mobility snapshot tool, an interactive map which shows the realities of how unsafe the streets are as well as the solutions that can make the communities more livable and sustainable, enabling access to education and work. Data are collected at specific intersections in local communities from 118 Mobility Snapshots in 44 countries at intersections across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North and South America. Key findings show that more than 156,000 pedestrians use these 118 intersections during peak hour, yet 102 of them lacked traffic calming measures or a speed limit of 30 km/h or lower.

Statistics Corner

EU Transport in figures, Statistical pocketbook, 2024 The Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG Move) of the European Commission released the Statistical Pocketbook 2024 “EU Transport in figures”. In this Statistical Pocketbook, key road safety Tables are contained, together with several other Tables on transport statistics, providing a complete picture of current trends in transport in Europe. Data on road fatalities for the EU Member States and associate countries allow for time series comparisons and country rankings.

ESRA3 – Cyclists Thematic Report, December 2024 The Cyclists Thematic Report of the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA) has been published, as prepared by DTU, with the support of NTUA. The Report provides comprehensive insights into the frequency of cycling, infrastructure usage, and self-declared safety behaviors among cyclists in 39 countries. Key findings indicate that the Netherlands and Denmark lead in frequent bicycle use, while cycling without a helmet and listening to music are the most common risky behaviors. Recommendations include improving cycling infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, and encouraging helmet use among male cyclists​.

Our Publications

TRB ACS10 Standing Committee Quarterly Meeting, online, September 2024 The TRB ACS10 Standing Committee organised with great success the Quarterly Meeting on Transport Safety Management Systems which was held online, on 25 September 2024. The primary focus of this meeting was the impact of the impact of the 30 km/h speed limit in urban areas.  NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation:  Impact of a 30 km/h City-Wide Speed Limit

HITE – Transportation Engineers Workshop, Athens, January 2025 The Hellenic Institute of Transportation Engineers (HITE) organized with great success the Transportation Engineers Workshop 2025 which took place on 27 January 2025, in Athens. The aim of the Workshop was to discuss the main issues concerning transportation in Greece and urban mobility in Attica, presenting the current situation, analysing future trends and exploring the new challenges for the development of the transportation system. New ideas emerged and innovative discussions took place towards more modern, reliable and safe mobility everywhere for all.  NTUA actively contributed with the following presentation: Urban Mobility and Road Safety

Y-Mobility – Speed Kills: Is Our ‘Freedom to Drive’ a Danger to Others? February 2025 The Y-Mobility latest Conversations in the Park podcast episode "Speed Kills: Is Our 'Freedom to Drive' a Danger to Others?" explores the contentious relationship between personal driving freedom and public safety with three global experts in transportation safety and technology willing to say what others won't: George Yannis, Nick Reed and David Fidalgo, hosted by Timothy Papandreou. Quick reality check: More road deaths than all wars combined Your SUV? It's part of the problem That 30 km/h limit you hate? It's saving lives Your "excellent driving skills"? That's part of the problem too Controversial? Good. That's the point. 🤔 Genuine question: When did we decide that driving fast was a right rather than a privilege? The related audio-podcast is now available:

Spatial analysis of telematics-based surrogate safety measures, February 2025 A paper titled Spatial analysis of telematics-based surrogate safety measures authored by Dimitrios Nikolaou, Apostolos Ziakopoulos, Armira Kontaxi, Athanasios Theofilatos and George Yannis  has been published in Journal of Safety Research. This study investigates the effects of traffic calming measures such as speed humps, chicanes, and roundabouts on road safety, air quality, and noise pollution. The findings reveal that implementing traffic calming strategies such as speed humps, chicanes, and roundabouts can reduce traffic crashes by more than 25%, with a remarkable 40% decrease in severe injuries involving vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. These measures also encourage safer driving behaviors by lowering vehicle speeds, which significantly enhances safety in densely populated urban areas.

SHOW – Shared Mobility Revolution, November 2024 An open-access book titled “Shared Mobility Revolution: Pioneering Autonomous Horizons” was recently published under the framework of the Horizon 2020 project SHOW (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption). This book reports on technologies and business models focusing on supporting the deployment of shared, connected, and electrified automation in urban transport. Chapters discuss practical issues concerning mobility data management, strategies to improve user acceptance and engagement, and reports on assessment and simulation techniques to test shared automated shuttles in various contexts. These discussions provide valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers shaping user-centered, sustainable future automated mobility. NTUA actively contributed with the following chapter, co-authored by Maria Oikonomou, Marios Sekadakis, Apostolos Ziakopoulos and George Yannis: Integrated Traffic Simulation Developer Suite for Shared Automated Mobility

Road Crashes Analysis In Greek Islands, October 2024 A NTUA Diploma Thesis titled “Road Crashes Analysis In Greek Islands” was recently presented by Nikitas Maratos Filippidis. For this purpose, data on monthly arrivals, crashes, and fatalities were collected for 38 Greek islands, which were then divided into four groups based on their geographical location. Subsequently, statistical correlations were examined through the development of Generalized Linear Models and Random Forest models using the R programming language. The results showed that arrivals on an island are positively correlated with the number of accidents and fatalities recorded during that period. Additionally, while arrivals were correlated with accidents across each group of islands examined, the results differed, possibly due to better road conditions on islands with high arrival numbers but low accident rates.

metaCCAZE – 2nd Newsletter, December 2024 The Horizon Europe research project MetaCCAZE has recently released the MetaCCAZE 2nd Newsletter, which provides information on the latest outcomes of the EU-funded MetaCCAZE project aiming to accelerate the deployment of smart systems that combine electric, automated and connected technologies and infrastructure, enabling zero-emission shared mobility services for both passengers and goods in European cities. Key innovative mobility solutions and the MetaInnovations toolkit implemented in the four Trailblazer Cities: Amsterdam, Munich, Limassol, and Tampere followed by the Trailblazer Cities: Athens, Krakow, Gonzo, Milan, Miskolc, and Paris region preparing to implement and demonstrate more successful innovative use cases. An Open Call for metaCCAZE Observer Citiesis released, inviting additional municipalities to join the initiative.

Upcoming Events

ICCS – International Symposium Navigating the Future of Traffic Management, Athens, June 2025 The Institute of Communications & Computer Systems (ICCS) together with International Road Federation (IRF) and several other Organizations, are organising the International Symposium Navigating the Future of Traffic Management in Athens, Greece on 29 June – 3 July 2025. This conference will focus on four thematic tracks: digitalization in traffic management, sustainable mobility strategies, integrated infrastructure systems, and road safety innovations. These tracks aim to address the complex challenges of modern traffic management and offer actionable insights for a safer and more efficient transportation future. Researchers can submit their proposals until 15 March 2025.

ICTR2025 – 12th International Congress on Transportation Research, Thessaloniki, October 2025 The Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT/CERTH) in cooperation with the Hellenic Institute of Transportation Engineers (HITE) are organizing the 12th International Congress on Transportation Research (ICTR 2025), which will take place on 16-18 October 2025 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The spotlight theme of the 2025 Congress is "Transportation in the era of Artificial Intelligence".