Excellence In Road Safety Awards 2024

The Excellence in Road Safety Awards 2024 Ceremony will take place in Brussels, on 14 November 2024. 

The event aims to celebrate outstanding road safety projects and initiatives across Europe and recognise efforts that contribute to the Vision Zero goal to reduce road deaths to nearly zero by 2050. The ceremony will highlight innovative solutions and effective strategies in road safety. Award categories include: 

• Best use of technology and innoavtion to promote road safety
• Best initiative supporting road safety for vulnerable road users: pedestrians and cyclists
• Best initiative supporting road safety in motorcycling 
• Best initiative promoting road safety education
• Urban Road Safety Award (open to municipalities, cities and regional authorities)

For the Urban Road Safety Award, the three finalists are: 

1. Commune di Bologna, Italy: Bologna City 30: more safety and more space for people: 

   In Italy, 73% of road crashes occur on urban roads, with Bologna experiencing the third highest road death rate among the country’s fourteen largest cities. To tackle this issue, the Città 30 initiative has been launched with four main strategies: designating 70% of the city as a 30 km/h zone, investing 24 million euros in new pedestrian areas and cycle paths, launching public communication campaigns and an ambassador programme for sustainable mobility, and increasing police patrols to enhance awareness and enforce traffic laws.

   The initiative has attracted significant public engagement, with nearly 20,000 citizens participating in an online questionnaire and the project website receiving 114,672 unique visits. Early results are promising in the first three months of 2024, the city saw a 14.5% reduction in crashes and a 12.6% decrease in injuries compared to the same period last year.

2. Faxe Kommune, Denmark: Improved road safety with AI inspections:

   Traditionally, road work inspections are conducted manually, often exposing employees to danger as they had to physically enter the street to take photographs or drive while searching for hazards. This manual approach compromises safety and limits the thoroughness of hazard detection.

   AI-powered automatic road safety inspections have transformed this process, created a safer working environment, and enhanced efficiency. Inspection vehicles equipped with advanced AI technology now identify and catalogue over 60 different types of road hazards, including potholes, cracks, and debris. The AI system analyses real-time data and generates a priority list, which helps road workers address the most critical issues first. This technological upgrade has reduced working time by 50% and identified over 1,569 potholes over a 12-month period. The result is a more effective and safer approach to road maintenance.

3. Cuerpo de Policía Municpal de Madrid, Spain: The Strategic Road Safety Plan 2021-2030 of Madrid: 

   The Strategic Road Safety Plan 2021-2030 for Madrid implements a comprehensive prevention policy focused on enhancing urban road safety and sustainable mobility, with a particular emphasis on protecting vulnerable groups. It promotes innovative participation, action, and evaluation methods, ensuring coordinated emergency services and the development of a road safety services charter with commitments to citizens.

   The plan emphasises transparency by actively publishing results and includes measures addressing all aspects of urban road safety, including occupational road accidents, in one of Europe’s largest and most mobile cities. The initiative has reached a large portion of the population and visitors through various internal and external channels. All actions are measured and evaluated using a range of internal and external tools.

Visit the event website for more information or register here to attend, either online or in person.