Forty iRAP Partners from across Europe came together last week, from 4-5 September in Brussels, with a focus on “Half way to 2030: Gearing up for Safer Mobility in Urban and Rural Environments”.

The event brought together iRAP partners, road authorities, the European Commission (DG MOVE, DG REGIO, DG INTPA), and organizations like European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR) and POLIS Network, working together to eliminate high-risk roads across the region.

During the two days, safer roads progress and projects across the region were discussed; case studies were shared from Moldova, Estonia, Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus, Albania, UK, Italy, Spain, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Slovakia; best practice was explored, and the necessary management, prioritisation, design and finance of safe road infrastructure improvements to achieve the 2030 goals.

Useful tools and approaches were presented, including the new RISM Directive Implementation Conversion Tool, soon-to-be-released Enhanced Star Rating for Designs Tool, CycleRAP, Star Rating for Schools, the Youth Engagement App (YEA) and AiRAP, highlighting their role in making roads safer in both urban and rural areas.

So far in 39 European countries, over 1.6 million kilometres of roads have been mapped for crash risk and 220,000km of existing roads and designs (including 219 schools) have been Star Rated, helping to inform the safety of €27 billion in road infrastructure investments. 12,900 people have been trained at local events in the region, along with 3,500 people who’ve benefited from iRAP global online training. 50 practitioners are iRAP Accredited.

The event also emphasized the critical contribution of iRAP Partners in Europe implementing the iRAP methodology and tools to inform safer road infrastructure and speeds which have saved over 700,000 lives and prevented serious injuries worldwide since 2016, as reported by Johns Hopkins University.

A big thank you to all the participants for contributing to this successful event!  Together, we’re making roads safer for everyone.

Programme

Download the programme overview

WEDNESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER

​Opening: Setting the Scene: Halfway to the end of the Decade of Action for Road Safety

Achieving targets globally
Moderator: Samar Abouraad, iRAP

• Diogo Pinto Policy Director, FIA Region 1
• Improving road transport in partner countries, an investment priority for the Global Gateway Sergio Oliete Josa Head of Unit – Sustainable Transport and Urban Development, European Commission (DG INTPA)
• Ferry Smith Former EuroRAP Chair
• Global welcome address (by video) Rob McInerney CEO, iRAP

Road safety in European context
Moderator: Marko Sevrovic, EIRA

• Reducing road deaths on European roads Maria Meinero Policy and Data Analyst, European Transport Safety Council (ETSC)
• Rural roads and road infrastructure safety management Mircea Ionescu SNE Policy Officer, Road Safety Unit, European Commission (DG MOVE)
• Steve Phillips Secretary General, Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR)
• Road safety in EU Cohesion policy Jeroen Van Oel Policy Analyst ‘Smart growth and connectivity’, European Commission
  (DG REGIO)

Road Assessment Programmes in Europe: Inspiring life-saving action
Moderator: Olivera Rozi, iRAP

• Systematic improvement of road safety by network-wide assessments at local and urban roads Suzy Charman Executive Director, Road Safety Foundation
• Road safety assessment pilot for RISM in Cyprus Stelios Efstathiadis Senior Traffic and Road Safety Specialist, Transport Solutions

Sharing RAP in my Country – Elevator pitches and roundtable discussion

• Road safety interventions/Star Rating Moldova Tatiana Mihailova Director and Project Manager, Automobile Club of Moldova
  
• Pilot project in Estonia Paula Puusaag Analyst and Project Manager, Estonia Transport Administration
• RAP and road safety in Slovenia Klemen Filipic Expert Associate and Engineer, Automobile and Motorcycle Association of Slovenia (AMZS)
• Greece and Cyprus update Stelios Efstathiadis Transport Solutions
• RAP activities in Italy Edoardo Mazzia Managing Director, FRED Engineering
• Crash Risk Mapping in Spain Cristian Bardají Mobility Area Director, Reial Automobil Club de Catalunya (RACC)
• iRAP in Georgia
• iRAP in Kazakhstan Arystan Massanov Director, Kazakh Scientific Research Institute for Road Safety
• iRAP in Slovakia

New tools elevating road infrastructure safety
Moderator: Edoardo Mazzia, FRED Engineering 

• RISM Directive implementation on rural roads and conversion tool Marko Sevrovic Senior Road Safety Engineer, European Institute of Road Assessment (EIRA)
• Network and corridor screening tool Andrejus Laugman, Global Technical Development Manager, iRAP
• Route review tool update with speed management Suzy Charman Executive Director, Road Safety Foundation
• Transforming the safety of road designs: The enhanced Star Rating for Designs (SR4D) Web App Marko Sevrovic EIRA

THURSDAY 5 SEPTEMBER

Tackling urban safety challenges: Tools to support policy, design and implementation
Moderator: Tatiana Mihailova, ACM 

• Vaccines for urban safety Pedro Homem de Gouveia Senior Policy Advisor, POLIS
• CycleRAP: Informing the safety of infrastructure for bicyclists and light mobility users across Europe, and beyond Monica Olyslagers Global Innovation Manager and Cities Specialist, iRAP
• Star Rating for Schools and the Youth Engagement App (YEA) for safer school journeys Shanna Lucchesi Project Coordinator, iRAP
• Redesigning urban space with ELABORATOR: Safety assessments framework from the European Living Lab for sustainable mobility towards climate neutral cities Monica Olyslagers, iRAP

Harnessing data for road safety: AiRAP and other initiatives
Moderator: Suzy Charman, Road Safety Foundation

• AiRAP global initiatives – Harnessing data and partnerships to map the safety of every road on Earth in support of Target 4 Marko Sevrovic Senior Road Safety Engineer, EIRA
• IVORY: Leading research and development for AI in road safety Eleonora Papadimitriou Technology, Policy and Management, Safety and Security Science Leader, Delft University of Technology (TUD)
• PHOEBE: Predictive approaches for safer urban environments Sam Chapman Senior Vice President of Innovation and Co-Founder, The Floow
• Data for Road safety: Live vehicle, crowd and infrastructure data improving road safety across Europe Steve Phillips Secretary General, Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR)

 Closing session: Roundtable discussion “Towards the 4^th Ministerial Conference on Global Road Safety – Morocco 2025”
Moderator: Samar Abouraad, iRAP

#PledgeforSaferRoads

Whilst in Brussels, many participating individuals and organisation undertook the #SaferRoadsPledge, an initiative of iRAP, the International Road Federation and FIA Foundation.

Leaders will gather at the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety  in Marrakech in February 2025 to assess progress in the Decade of Action for Road Safety and to agree on actions to reduce road trauma by 2030.

Organisations involved in designing and financing road infrastructure are pledging ​their commitment for safer roads, and supporting the Sustainable Development Goals ​(SDGs) to save lives.

For more information and to support the pledge, visit https://pledge.irap.org/

The event in pictures

Hear from participants

RAP in Europe 2024 enabled important networking and partnerships between stakeholders committed to safe and sustainable transport throughout the region.

Building on friendships old and new, and invigorated by the successes and opportunities shared, European partners’ work now continues, working together for safer mobility in urban and rural environments by 2030.

For more information

• To see how iRAP partners are working to make roads safer in Europe, latest news, and to connect, visit our European Regional Support page here.
• Download the RAP in Europe brochure here
• To discuss how we can support partners with the free tools, training and support to make their roads safer, contact iRAP Safer Journeys Lead for Europe Olivera Rozi on email olivera.rozi@irap.org

Part of our Regional Event Series

Did you know? Our iRAP Safer Journeys Leads have a strategic focus to support global and national partners to eliminate high-risk roads in the regions – Africa, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North America.

We’re hosting three RAP Regional Events this year focussed on the unique challenges and opportunities for each region to improve road infrastructure safety, policies and partnerships with the goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030. Next stops Nairobi and Mexico!

Read all about our Regional Event Series here.

Images and videos credit: iRAP