Training

The overall target of the KFV podcast is to provide important and usefull tips for people who care about their personal safety and the well-being of their loved ones in the everyday life.

In each episode of the KFV podcast, two KFV experts talk for around 20 minutes about a topic from everyday life: about current issues of safe road traffic as well as accident-free relaxation during sport and exercise in nature, but also about the pitfalls of getting older as well as the turbulent life with children and teenagers.

With life experience, specialist knowledge and a good dose of humour, both moderators provide important tips and back ground information about accident risks, accident occurrence and accident prevention.

Here is a little taster of the content of the first three episodes published in March 2023, April 2023 and May 2023:


Episode 1: ‘L17: the best route to a driving licence?’

L17 is currently the most comprehensive driver training course on the way to a B driving licence. But driving the first 3,000 kilometres with your own child at the wheel can be nerve-wracking. Is the effort, courage and extra work really worth it?

On air: Monday, 11 March 2023

Episode 2: ‘Starting the motorbike season: why are masking effects life-threatening and ellipses life-saving?’

Motorcycling is back in fashion among the 40-plus generation. Since 2000, the number of motorbikes in Austria has more than doubled. But the streamlined silhouette is also the greatest danger: single-track bikes are virtually invisible in many traffic situations. How can motorcycling remain a safe pleasure?

On air: Monday, 17 April 2023


Episode 3: ‘Children & water: fascination, pleasure, risk. How to ensure water fun - with safety!’

Children and water - that means fun, but it's also a risky combination. For small children, paddling pools just a few centimetres deep can be disastrous if left unattended. What are the best safety measures for swimming pools, garden ponds and the like?

On Air: Monday, 15th May 2023

Since March 2023 the KFV Podcast has been published with a new episode once a month.

Traditional driving license training often relies on printed books and passive learning methods, leading to a lack of engagement and incomplete comprehension of critical road safety concepts. Young learners, in particular, benefit from interactive and digital learning experiences. The Austrian Road Safety Board (KFV) recognized this gap and developed the mobile and web app "Yarrive" to enhance road safety education through a modern, interactive, and gamified approach. The objective is to shift from rote memorization to true understanding, ultimately improving driver competence and road safety.

The Technical Day held at Braslovče Primary School on February 23, 2024, in collaboration with the VOZIM Institute, was both practical and educational. The students were first introduced to the DRAJV app and analyzed traffic safety in the municipality. During the event, they created posters and presented proposals to improve safety, which were also supported by Mayor Tomaž Žohar. The students participated in activities at seven stations, including an e-scooter simulator and workshops led by representatives from the Police, the Braslovče Fire Department, and the Žalec Health Center. The VOZIM Institute ambassador, Janez Hudej, shared his personal story about a traffic accident, which gave the students a deeper insight into the seriousness of road safety. The event emphasized the importance of involving young people in shaping road safety solutions.

REMOVING TRAFFIC CONGESTION

We conducted an experiment at the JRC (Ispra, Italy) in a controlled traffic environment to ensure safety. The test consisted of a platoon of vehicles with the following configuration:

A first vehicle with a human driver following his usual behaviour on the road.
A second vehicle equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC).
Several conventional drivers keeping their safe distance.
Multiple tests were conducted with different groups of drivers, who were given inertial driving training.

The results have been surprising:
✅ Increased road safety.
✅ Significant reduction of traffic jams (better mobility).
✅ Lower fuel consumption and reduced pollutant emissions.
✅ More relaxed driving and less stress for drivers.

The event focuses on an initiative aimed at improving road safety for young people, especially e-scooter and e-bike users. A survey by Zavarovalnica Triglav showed that only a little over half of young people feel safe when riding an e-scooter, and many have already experienced accidents. The lack of protective clothing, helmets, and reflective accessories contributes to greater risks. In the "Ne bluzi, z glavo kruzi" (Don’t Play It Cool, Use Your Head) initiative, the Vozim Institute, Zavarovalnica Triglav, and Yootree Creative agency collaborated to encourage safer e-scooter use among young people. By working with design students, they created a unique collection, "Dejmo se videt" (Let's Be Seen), of reflective clothing that combines safety with modern style. The collection was presented on October 17, 2024, at Ljubljana Fashion Week.The students used innovative reflective materials to design fashionable yet safe products. The collection was presented at Ljubljana Fashion Week, where it gained significant attention. The goal was to raise awareness about the importance of visibility in traffic, especially during the autumn and winter months. The initiative continues with workshops and public events, aiming for the products to become part of young people’s everyday style. The main goal of the initiative is to reduce the risk of accidents and encourage young people to prioritize safety while maintaining their personal style.

Governments and administration need to do more to improve road safety. But, the statistics for road traffic accidents are still shocking. Around 90% of all road accidents are caused by human error. That means every year, about a million people die because of other people's mistakes, carelessness, or irresponsibility. So it makes you wonder, are we doing good enough for road safety? Safe Driving, aims to help and informing whole road users about every single issue in Road Traffic from A to Z.

The safety and interaction of cyclists during infrastructure conservation and repair works are significantly impacted by changes made, potentially leading to new conflicts between cyclist traffic and vehicles.
The BIKEFLOW project's objective is to enhance cyclist safety in critical areas identified within modified sections during ongoing conservation efforts. By employing video analytics and Artificial Intelligence, we can examine the movements and potential interactions of cyclists and vehicles. This technology utilizes video analysis to forecast safety levels before incidents happen, enabling the identification of vehicles, routes, and speeds, with the capability to present data in real-time or upon request. In light of these analyses, permanent cameras have been installed at the junction of N-110 and N-502 to conduct surrogate safety assessments. This involves applying various configurations to the route to analyze the behavior of road users (both vehicles and cyclists) and to train an AI model that determines the most suitable layout configuration. The findings are then applied to adjust signage, lower speed limits, establish protected lanes at critical junctures, or modify paths as necessary.

Between 2018 and 2022 there where 93 fatalities and 894 serious injury collisions in Irish roads which involved motorcyclists. No specific road safety programme aimed at motorcyclists existed at that time. It was identified that the vast majority of these collisions occurred over the Summer months and almost 50% at weekends and many involved leisure riders or those retuning to motorcycling. Ireland has a large number of rural roads, ideal for leisure riding but this also increases risk through road topography and additional hazards which adversely impact motorcycle safety compared to other road users.

Asociatia Drum Sigur analyzed and researched the following design errors:
- incorrect use of signs for yielding priority in intersections (Give Way and Stop signs) (error found in most countries of the world)
- the formulas used to calculate the length of acceleration/deceleration lanes at road junctions are incorrect (they do not take into account the impact of heavy vehicle traffic, as well as the volume of traffic flows) (error found worldwide)
- the use of staggered pedestrian crossings at traffic lighted intersections has negative effects on pedestrian traffic in most cases. (case analysis for all the staggered pedestrian crossings in Bucharest)
- identification of design and execution errors for T-type intersections, roundabouts, turbo-roundabouts or interchanges in some cities in Romania.
- analyzing some design errors on certain streets in Bucharest and proposing measures to improve road safety and traffic flow.