In order to be safe in traffic, all road users must act responsibly and considerately. To this end, measures must be taken to improve the traffic climate.

This involves reducing distractions (such as mobile phones) and ensuring that rules are accepted and followed. Impairments to the ability to drive – physical, psychological or drug-related – need to be addressed and identified and compensated using new technology.

Demographic change calls for research into measures to enable safer mobility for older road users. Driving training will be optimised with new learning and training concepts – digital in nature, such as e-learning. In order for everyone to be informed about road safety, new communication channels need to be found – for example via social media.

Objectives

• Investigate measures for an improved traffic climate
• Reduce distractions in traffic
• Encourage rule acceptance and compliance
• Resolve impairments of driving ability and recognize and compensate them with technology
• Enabling older people to have safe mobility
• Optimize driving training with new, digital concepts
• Finding new communication channels for road safety

In addition to newly developed approaches to road safety, existing, effective measures must be applied and expanded.

In order to implement suitable measures and thus avoid accidents on roads, dangerous places must first be identified. Reactive methods (such as accident reports) are supplemented by proactive approaches (by means of risk assessment). Both will be more digital and efficient.

New challenges, such as climate protection or digitalisation, complement existing fields of action, such as cycling safety or wildlife accidents. Therefore, the requirements for safe road design and equipment need to be constantly updated. Tunnels also require special measures.

Corresponding requirements and regulations are to be developed in a comprehensible, easy-to-access manner and with concrete examples.

Objectives

• Identifying Dangerous Sites on Roads
• Digitally improve reactive methods and proactive approaches
• Develop simple and concrete guidelines and regulations

New technologies are helping to make driving safer. Automated driving should prevent accidents as proactively as vehicles connected to the infrastructure. Drivers are supported by advanced information (such as traffic warnings) or emergency braking and steering interventions.

Existing traffic management measures – such as route influences such as temporary bans on overtaking – will be used to a greater extent. Rules developed for this purpose, as well as test and test procedures, will also be used for the further development of safety systems for vehicles and infrastructure.

Objectives

• Proactively prevent accidents by means of infrastructure-connected vehicles
• Expand existing traffic management measures
• Use developed rules, test and inspection procedures for further development of safety systems

In the next few years, the share of walking and cycling (active mobility) in total traffic is expected to increase. If more people are travelling on foot or by bike, their safety must also be improved so that the number of accidents does not increase at the same time.

To this end, measures have to be taken (e.g. upgraded cycle paths or pedestrian facilities) and technical regulations and requirements for motor vehicles (e.g. emergency braking systems) have to be further developed.

The safety of children, adolescents, the elderly and people with disabilities is particularly important. Their active mobility can be promoted through targeted offers and accessibility.

Objectives

• Develop and implement measures, regulations and requirements to make increasing foot and bicycle traffic safe
• Targeted promotion of the safety of individual target groups

Man-made accidents cannot always be prevented. Therefore, measures must be developed to reduce the consequences of accidents.

With collected accident data (e.g. with GIDAS 4.0 or MAIS3+), these measures are to be tested and improved test procedures and dummies are to be developed. This will allow all vehicle occupants to be better protected, regardless of age, gender, height or weight.

Automated vehicles with new interior concepts provide drivers with different seating positions. This can lead to new accident situations, which is why both vehicles and road equipment must be examined and adapted. Procedures following accidents involving alternatively propelled vehicles, such as extinguishing fires, also need to be updated.

The rapid reaction after an accident is very important for reduced accident consequences. This requires local monitoring of rescue times and the continuous development of rescue chains.

Objectives

• Develop measures to mitigate the consequences of accidents
• Adapting road equipment to new vehicles
• Enable rapid response after an accident event through better rescue times and chains

The analysis of vehicle and traffic data, key/safety performance indicators or accident data (e.g. from GIDAS) is important for road safety – especially due to increasing digitalisation and connectivity.

For this purpose, data bases are to be created and expanded that are sensitive and compliant with data protection. The opportunities of big data should be optimally exploited and the risks minimized.

Objectives

• Creating and expanding data bases for analyses