Who is Fraunhofer IVI, and what is your role as a Charter Ambassador?
As the Charter Ambassador for Germany, we act as the main contact point for German members of the European Road Safety Charter. We promote Charter initiatives, share knowledge, and support collaboration to improve road safety across the country.
Why did you decide to join the European Road Safety Charter?
We joined the Charter because its goals closely align with our mission to transfer scientific approaches and results into practice. The Charter provides a strong platform to share research-based insights, build networks between road safety stakeholders, and support collaboration at national and European level. Our background in vehicle and traffic safety research, accident prevention, and road user behaviour provides a solid foundation for supporting the Charter’s objectives and connecting research with real-world application.
What are your main focus areas and current projects?
Our work focuses on accident prevention, vehicle safety, the protection of vulnerable road users, and the use of accident data to develop targeted safety measures.
One key initiative is our interactive accident prevention project. By combining real accident data with immersive virtual reality scenarios, we recreate local high-risk situations to help participants, especially children and young people, recognise dangers, adapt their behaviour, and sustainably reduce accident risk.
Who do you collaborate with?
At Fraunhofer IVI, we work with national and international partners to translate research into practical road safety solutions.
Within the Horizon Europe project SOTERIA, we develop data-driven safety frameworks for vulnerable road users and implement prototype solutions in Living Labs across Europe. In the V4Safety project, we develop a framework for using realistic traffic scenarios to test automated driving systems, helping ensure that future automated driving functions are safe and reliable.
What advice would you give to organisations working on road safety?
To make a real difference in road safety, combine research with collaboration. Work closely with local, national, and European partners, listen to road users, and test solutions both in virtual environments and in practice. Commitment and strong networks are essential. Change happens when ideas are grounded in science and implemented with the right stakeholders.