Policy makers

Motorcycle crashes are different. They follow different patterns to any other mode. They have different reasons, and they are by far more difficult to address. Motorcycle riders are considered vulnerable road users, and even those who wear good protective clothing are much more exposed to risk than road users in a protective cage or moving at lower speeds. Fatalities among motorcycle users are decreasing, but at a slower rate and with a lag when compared to car drivers. Hence, their share within total traffic fatalities has increased in recent years (currently at 16% in Europe).

Motorcycles are an important solution to urban congestion, they are environmentally friendly compared to cars carrying just one person, and they are an important economic factor for tourism.

Measures in the area of education are important and can be effective but would take decades to develop their full potential. Technological measures such as ABS are very effective but are slow to penetrate the market. It is particularly difficult to convince riders to use protective equipment. In contrast, infrastructural measures offer an opportunity for immediate impact.

Austria continues to be an absolute negative example when it comes to speeding offences. The effects of speeding and excessive speed on road safety can be clearly seen in the accident statistics: Inappropriate speed was the main cause of more than a quarter of all fatal accidents between 2017 and 2021. Particularly high speeding offences have an enormous impact on the risk of accidents and the severity of injuries. Speeding drivers are convinced that they have their car under control even at high speeds.

According to the 2023 report from the Spanish General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), run off accidents are the accidents with the highest fatality rates (42% of the total). This figure has seen no improvement in the last five years, but has actually worsened slightly.
With the objective of finding solutions to this serious traffic, social and health problem, and aligned with the EU-supported ‘Vision Zero’ strategy, Metalesa has led pioneering scientific research in cooperation with the University of Valencia.
Using official accident data from police databases, up to 56,607 run off accidents with victims were analysed. One of the conclusions is the need to install approved vehicle restraint systems (passive road safety), while the other main conclusion is that installing them with embedded new Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies may prevent up to 43.5% of all run off accidents (active road safety).
Armed with these results, Metalesa has developed a versatile and innovative technology system, PLUG&META®, that integrates into any road equipment and – through a network of sensors – is able to detect risk scenarios on the road, warn users in real time of hazardous situations and report the data to the competent authorities.
PLUG&META® allows any existing passive equipment to be transformed into smart and connected ones. This is what we call “Active Road Safety for infrastructure”. It is easy to install, affordable, and versatile enough to be incorporated into any road system equipment. It prevents run off accidents by identifying risks in real time and signalling them in order to alert road users. Some of the main risks that can be detected and warned about include:
- Crashes against the equipment
- Problematic time zone
- Limited or reduced visibility
- Risk of ice on the carriageway
- Strong gusts of winds
- Presence of cyclists, pedestrian or animals on the road
- Excessive speeds
- Nearby traffic jams
- Roadworks
- Tight or dangerous bends
- Coordination with traffic lights

All data and control of the different uses and configurations of the technology is via the PLUG&META® TRACE platform. This management platform allows municipal or road administrators to monitor the different smart infrastructures from anywhere thanks to its remote connection.
Through the platform, administrators can check the correct functioning of each device, the road safety alerts that have been registered, the signalling method for each risk scenario, the road safety statistics generated by the smart infrastructures, user and role management and alert validation, among other options. It is a responsive platform, which can be used remotely on any device with an internet connection.
It also allows integration with other third-party management platforms already used in the administrations.
The technological system described and proposed for the award is totally innovative worldwide for its ability to integrate (in a simple, effective and economical way) all these features in a single device at the same time, simply using a plug&play connection for the sensors, those that each administration needs in each scenario.
With this solution, any road administration, and society in general, would have a wide and varied network of equipment available that can ensure the safety of users autonomously and in real time, signalling only those situations that pose a potential risk.
Roads therefore become a safer, dynamic, interactive, protected environment, which will contribute to reducing the number of road accidents.
In summary, the innovative system described above is composed of two well-structured and coherent axes: scientific-technical research on run off traffic accidents + innovative and patented digital technology that provides the infrastructure with Active (preventive) Road Safety. This is an important step in the roadmap towards Smart Roads, facilitating modal coexistence between users, and contributing to reducing the likelihood of run off accidents, which, as previously mentioned, is one of the most serious problems for road safety, as it is the type of accident that causes the most victims each year in Spain and Europe.

Currently, infrastructure maintenance services equip vehicles with variable message panels with luminous arrows and chevrons. At Alvac, we are enhancing safety by connecting these systems with Waze, DGT 3.0, and the National Traffic Access Point.
This integration offers numerous benefits for road safety and traffic management. It would provide real-time information to drivers about the location of maintenance work through car navigation systems, allowing them to adjust routes and speeds to reduce accident risks.
Precise and timely alerts would increase the visibility of maintenance work and protect workers on the road, reducing the likelihood of accidents. Additionally, navigation applications could automatically plan alternative routes to avoid work zones, minimizing congestion and improving traffic flow.
Shared information would facilitate a quicker and more coordinated response from emergency services in case of accidents near work zones. Furthermore, data collected by Waze and DGT 3.0 could be analyzed to identify patterns and improve road safety and traffic management.
In summary, connecting the ASPA Flecha system with Waze, DGT 3.0, and the National Traffic Access Point would significantly enhance safety and efficiency on the roads.

DEKRA Italia, as a leading road safety company, faces several challenges and problems to raise awareness of the issue and reduce the number of accidents and deaths. One of the main ones is the increasing presence of driving distractions, such as cell phone use or lack of attention to the road due to fatigue or stress.
Our daily commitment is to raise awareness about the consequences of these bad habits and to promote responsible driving behavior.

In Italy in particular in the last year, there is a high number of road accidents especially among the younger generations: in this sense, our Mission is to raise awareness on proper road education among the youngest, but also aiming to include all age groups in order to change their cultural asset, values and habits in order to support the growth of a generation of future drivers inspired by safety and sustainability. By 'playing' from an early age with road safety and proactively exercising young people on the golden rules of safe driving, we are sure to contribute to future drivers being ready for the challenges on safety and sustainability of the cities of the future, between micro- and macro-mobility.

In the vision of becoming a cycling-friendly city, the City of Skopje invests massively in new and renovated cycling paths. Only last year, 40 kilometers of cycling paths in the city were opened, but due to a lack of expertise, they are with many flaws. As a result, the main focus of the project proposal is to increase the safety of bike commuters by providing independent assessments of the safety and quality of cycling infrastructure using the CycleRAP methodology. This is important for mobility planners and decision makers to understand the cycling infrastructure safety and develop investment plans that are evidence-based. In cooperation with the Factual, accredited partner and Advisory Board member of CycleRAP, we will not only provide safety assessment of the cycling infrastructure based on the CycleRAP methodology, but we will also provide evidence – based recommendations for increasing the safety of the cycling paths, while providing capacity building at the same time.