EU-funded researchers have studied and piloted a variety of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to ascertain which will best improve the safety, comfort and mobility for vulnerable road users (VRUs).
The EU has a target of halving road fatalities by 2020 and figures released by the European Commission show that there were 26 000 fatalities and 135 000 serious injuries on EU roads in 2015, with a combined cost of around EUR 100 billion (rehabilitation, healthcare, material damages, etc.).
Between 2000 and 2012, fatalities among car occupants were reduced by 50% but similar reductions were not experienced by Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), with fatalities amongst pedestrians reduced by 34 %, cyclists 31 %, and motorcyclists 17 %. Taken together, VRUs account for 68 % of the road fatalities in urban areas. Indeed, incidents involving VRUs are one of the reasons cited for the slowdown in EU road safety between 2015 and 2014.
See more: cordis.europa.eu