- Magda Kopczyńska, Director General, DG MOVE
- Jack Chambers, Minister of State for Transport, Ireland
- Georges Gilkinet, Minister for Transport, Belgium
- Shailen Bhatt, Administrator, US Federal Highways Administration
The EU’s Road Safety Policy Strategy set out a plan to halve road deaths road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and to get close to eliminating them by 2050 – Vision Zero. As we approach the mid-point of the decade of action, what’s going right and what’s going wrong? Views from the EU and the US.
Since 2020, all Member States have subscribed to working towards Vision Zero through the application of the Safe System. But are we walking the talk?
Panel discussion:
- George Yannis, NTUA: What does the EU Road Safety Observatory tell us about progress?
- Sofia Gjestad Swedish Transport Administration: Back to basics: what really is the Safe System?
- Alvaro Gomez, Directorate General for Traffic, Spain: How did we cut road deaths and how can we keep up the pace?
Moderator: Jonathon Passmore, WHO Regional Office for Europe
Coffee break
Vehicles, mobility systems and road infrastructure are increasingly connected and equipped with automation. Yet we will have at least another decade of an ageing vehicle fleet and lagging investments in infrastructure. How do we bridge this transition? Does a more automated system take account of human nature?
- Maria Tsavachidis, CEO EIT urban mobility: how is safety taken into account in the development of future mobility solutions?
- Laurianne Krid, FIA: educating drivers to understand and interact with automated driving
- Michiel Christoph, SWOV, experiences from the Mediator project: how can we safely switch between human-led and automated driving?
Moderator: Geertje Hegeman, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Netherlands
Lunch break
70% of road deaths in urban areas are to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, users of micromobility. What steps can we take to keep people safer in our cities and towns?
- Maurizio Tira, University of Brescia/ ETSC: Findings of the Expert Group on Urban Mobility on road safety in our cities
- Valentina Orioli, Councillor for Mobility and Public Space, City of Bologna, Italy: taking bold steps to protect people in urban space
- Evelien Marlier, IMEC, applying technology to protecting vulnerable road users in cities
Moderator: Peter Staelens, Eurocities
Rural roads are essential for economic and social life in rural areas. But they are the most dangerous location for fatal road crashes, with 53% of all EU road deaths taking place on rural roads. Problems include inappropriate speed limits, poor infrastructure and a wide variety of vehicles sharing the road. What can be done to reverse the trend?
Testimony by Giovanni Pintor, road safety association “Adesso Basta”, Italy
- Heli Siirilä, Vaasa University, Finland: Expectations of rural communities on road safety
- Veronika Valentova, Czechia on reducing road deaths in rural Czechia
- Uroš Brumec, Slovenian Infrastructure Agency on how infrastructure improvements can cut rural road deaths
Moderator: Véronique Feypell, ITF-OECD
Coffee break
Road crashes not only result in the deaths of over 20 000 people a year in the EU, they also cause life-changing injuries to 5-6 times that number. What kinds of injuries are being sustained in road crashes and what can be done to help mitigate their impact?
Testimony by Méabh White, road crash survivor
- Mark Broughton, Chairman, Johanniter International on the role of first responders at crash scenes
- Katarzyna Dobrzanska – Junco, Secretary of the Road Safety Council of the Lesser Poland (Malopolskie) Voivodeship on a holistic approach to treating serious injuries
- Dr Ruairi Connolly, Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, Cork University Hospital
Moderator: Claire Depré, Head of Road Safety Unit, DG MOVE
Facing the future: What next for EU road safety policy?
- Eva Lindström, Member, European Court of Auditors: Findings of the performance audit on Road Safety
- Magda Kopczyńska, Director General, DG MOVE
What should the EU do?
- Direct comments from participants: What more can the EU do in the second half of the 10-year policy framework to 2030?
Closing remarks
- Kristian Schmidt, Director, Land Transport, DG MOVE and EU Road Safety Coordinator