Road safety
In urban areas, 68% of road fatalities involve vulnerable road users (VRUs) like pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and people with disabilities. Efforts to improve road safety have traditionally focused on vehicles and infrastructure, which has notably reduced road fatalities in recent decades.
However, fatalities among VRUs have declined at a slower rate. To create safer and more sustainable urban mobility, strategies must address the evolving dynamics of new vehicle types (e.g., autonomous and light electric vehicles) and technologies (e.g., platform-based work). These emerging factors can contribute to an increase in serious injuries and fatalities for these users, who may only account for 3% of vehicle kilometres driven in European cities, but up to 30% of serious injuries and fatalities in some areas.
About POLIS work
POLIS collaborates with the International Transport Forum’s (ITF) Safer City Streets network, gathering critical data on crashes, injuries, and fatalities to support evidence-based road safety measures. Additionally, through its Safety and Security Working Group, POLIS members share insights to improve road safety.
POLIS is also a participant in EU-funded projects such as PHOEBE, which focuses on enhancing VRU safety via interdisciplinary traffic simulation and safety assessments, and supports projects like ELABORATOR and UPPER that adopt comprehensive road safety approaches.
New Brussels-based study investigates car obesity
Celebrating youth climate changemakers on World Cities Day 2024
ETSC puts spotlight on road safety for new mandate in ‘I will be a life-saver’ campaign
Discover the latest ERTRAC Integrated Urban Mobility Roadmap!
SOLUTIONSplus publishes new policy brief!
GIANTS project survey: We need your support!
POLIS publishes fourth edition of Cities in motion magazine
Save the date for ‘Light vehicles – heavy impacts?’, a joint POLIS WG meeting with ACEM and LENS
2024 Excellence in Road Safety Awards: Applications welcome!
POLIS’ manifesto for the European elections goes live at the Brussels Bubble Band meeting
A new ERTRAC’s Vision and SRA is on the way!
Registrations soon to open for RTR Conference 2024
Size matters! POLIS urges the EU to keep large and unsafe vehicles off European streets
POLIS publishes second volume of magazine Cities in motion!
ERTRAC celebrated its 20th anniversary with a bang!
POLIS’ Brussels Bubble Band meets again
Enter the TRA VISIONS 2024 competitions!
Read the latest iDREAMS Policy Brief on Corporate Social Responsibility and road safety
ISA-FIT launches market ready product
Road safety webinar marks start of cooperation between PHOEBE sister projects
Częstochowa launches pedestrian installations to raise road safety awareness
Check out POLIS’ 2023 project line-up!
Registrations now open for the Just Transition Webinar series!
POLIS launches Just Transition webinar series
Welcome to the world, PHOEBE!
POLIS unveils its brand-new magazine ‘Cities in motion’!
Steps ahead! The future of Barcelona’s superblock
i-DREAMS dreams of Zero: POLIS publishes second road safety brief
Micro-Mobility for Europe signs ‘The New Paradigm for Safe City Streets’
German cities demand freedom to implement 30 km/h speed zones
Catalonia confronts sexual harassment in public transport
Registration for the Annual POLIS Conference 2022 is now open!
Alternative fuels regulation: bring local & regional actors on board!
DIT4TraM shares its vision during 4FRONT webinar
Apply for the Excellence in Road Safety Awards 2022
Registrations for Urban Mobility Days 2022 are now open
EIT Urban Mobility launches ISA FIT, an Intelligent Speed Assistance retrofit solution
Save the date for the Urban Mobility Days 2022!
TANGENT’s first newsletter: in your inbox… soon!
Bloomberg Philanthropies announces expansion of Asphalt Art to Europe!
Sustrans, Living Streets and ARUP team up for guide on making walking and wheeling inclusive
MORE project releases a video featuring MORE project goals for street space redesign and urban space reallocation
Get to know the MORE project tools for street space redesign and urban space reallocation!
Urban Transport Group publishes report on future of e-scooters
SAVE THE DATE for the Annual POLIS Conference 2022
Madrid gets in the finals of the 10th SUMP Award
Cardiff citizens use data from WeCount to communicate road safety concerns to local councillors
Autumn working group meetings
Paris extends 30 km/h speed limit to most city streets
Let’s talk numbers – a closer look at the WeCount experience
June working group meetings: Digitisation, SMCs… and more!
On-Demand Mobility Operators sign New Paradigm for Safe City Streets
Watch the LEVITATE webinar on road safety assessment of CATS
Czestochowa crosses with confidence
April’s Working Group meetings: A spring in our step
Parliament calls for Strong European Leadership on Road Safety – including urban areas
Bilbao wins 2021 EU Road Safety Award
Concerns on EDR and ISA Draft Delegated Acts
Bilbao, Grenoble, Lilienthal, and Mönchengladbach win European sustainable mobility awards
Safety & Security Working Group meets to discuss capacity building for road safety
POLIS joins call for revised truck safety standards
Lille proves you’re never too young for sustainable mobility
Transport for London launches Vision Zero dashboard
Building the 30km/h city: Brussels goes bold
Brussels develops intelligent kilometre charge
Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators (SUMI) are now available
Barcelona tackles traffic around school districts
i-DREAMS launches first Policy Brief by POLIS on “Safety Tolerance Zone”
POLIS joins call for review to ISA regulation
POLIS wants an effective ISA
On the Road to Safer Streets: Update from Road Safety Working Group
Changing direction overnight: Sweden’s story of switching to driving on the right
COVID-19: Networking must go on(line)
Road safety is everybody’s responsibility
TfL launches London FreightLab to innovate for freight and servicing
Polis to bring cities’ perspectives to world leaders summit on road safety
Polis releases discussion paper on micromobility
Support grows for road safety city declaration
European Day Without a Road Death 2019. How did it go?
Interesting funding opportunity for enhancing road safety
Apply for the 8th SUMP Award on Safe Walking and Cycling
City declaration “The New Paradigm for Safe City Streets” launched today
New: Urban Road Safety Award – applications are now open!
Online i-DREAMS survey: Call for expert views on safer driving until 30 September
Last days to register for European Road Safety Summer School
Save the date: Polis-ITF Road Safety workshop in Lisbon, 16-18 October 2019
Road safety: European Commission sets out next steps towards “Vision Zero” including key performance indicators
What do policy makers want to know about the impact of connected automated vehicles?
New PIN report reveals data about urban road safety in the EU
Results of the e-survey on users’ travel behaviour within the European project ISAAC
The European Road Safety Charter: call for Good Practice submissions extended to the 31 May
New knowledge to boost walking and cycling revealed
Polis cities exchange experience on active travel and road safety
European Parliament backs new vehicle safety standards
ITF launches a new report on “Road Safety in European Cities”
The European Road Safety Charter is calling for Good Practice submissions
European Commission releases road safety data for 2018
ISA and Digital Maps: Webinar on 26 March at 3pm CET
CEDR Conference discusses Modal Choice in a Multimodal Transport System
Urban Road Safety: Your input for next PIN Report
New ETSC report on speeding and the vital role of in-vehicle technology
ERTRAC Annual Conference to discuss road transport research under “Horizon Europe”
Practitioners welcome at European Road Safety Summer School
Upcoming Polis Working Group meetings in 2019
Research project launches survey on autonomous driving in European cities
Save the date: Polis-ITF Working Group on road safety on 16-18 October 2019
Spanish capital city of Madrid is set to launch “Madrid Central”, new Low Emission Zone
Invitation to discuss the role of local authorities for a ‘Vision Zero’ in road safety
Polis Secretary General signs ISA manifesto
Cities and researchers discuss how to improve safety of city streets
First-ever Global Benchmarking for Urban Road Safety presented at ITF-Polis Joint Workshop in London
Register now: Joint Polis-ITF workshop on road safety and data on 20-21 November
Road safety for pedestrians and cyclists will be elaborated at several events in Barcelona
Five weeks left to apply for the European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards!
Madrid takes steps towards safer and more accessible city streets
19 September 2018 is European Day Without A Road Death
European Road Safety Decision Support System released
Draft programme of 2018 Polis Conference released
European Commission publishes 3rd Mobility Package in a bid to bring ambitious vehicle safety elements into EU legislation
ETSC released new Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) report
Cities’ road safety efforts in the spotlight at Polis’ side event at International Transport Forum
Third Mobility Package includes road safety initiatives and new vehicle safety standards
Creating the Safe City. The May 2018 Issue of Thinking Cities is Out!
POLIS Side Event at ITF Summit addresses how cities unlock innovation to improve urban road safety
London and Rome to co-chair ITF’s Safer City Streets
Polis organises ITF summit side event on road safety in cities and regions
Road Safety Conference will present the European Road Safety Decision Support System
How to reduce traffic injuries whilst promoting active travel?
Deadline for ITF 2018 Awards – 4 February
1st European conference showcase results of H2020 transport projects
Registration open for Polis-ITF joint road safety workshop
Marrakech declaration: Road safety needs better data
Call to participate at European Day Without a Road Death (EDWARD)
WHO releases road safety technical package “Save LIVES”
2017 Polis Conference: Programme launched and registrations open!
Member States call for EU vehicle safety rules
Flanders lowers speed limits to 70km/h
- Related Events
- Related Documents
- Related Projects