Last week, iRAP participated in Paving Expo Conference 2026 in São Paulo, Brazil, joining road infrastructure, transport and safety leaders to explore the future of safer, smarter and more sustainable mobility. The event also provided an opportunity for iRAP and its Centre of Excellence partner LabTrans to connect with stakeholders from across Brazil and Latin America and share global road safety knowledge and innovation.
A highlight of the conference was a presentation by Professor Marko Ševrovic, Director and Senior Road Safety Expert at the European Institute of Road Assessment (EIRA), and Professor at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences (FPZ), who explored road safety, European and Croatian experiences, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in supporting road safety programmes.
The 50-minute presentation was part of the session Roads 360° organized by iRAP and VIAZ Consulting, and it focused on how road authorities can move from reactive approaches towards proactive road safety management by combining established methodologies such as iRAP with AI, video analytics and increasingly available infrastructure and mobility data.
Drawing on experiences from Croatia and across Europe, Professor Ševrovic demonstrated how AI can support road authorities in identifying risk, analysing large road networks, detecting infrastructure deficiencies and prioritising interventions where they can deliver the greatest safety benefits.
“Technology alone will not deliver Vision Zero,” said Professor Ševrovic. “But when combined with sound road safety engineering, quality data, proven methodologies and a Safe System approach, AI can significantly increase the scale, speed and consistency of how we identify and manage road risk.”
The event was also attended by Julio Urzua, iRAP Global Projects Director, Morgan Fletcher, iRAP Latin America Operations Manager and Franco Azzato, iRAP Training and Accreditation Lead, alongside a diverse audience of transport professionals, researchers and infrastructure experts. Discussions highlighted the opportunities for emerging technologies to support evidence-based decision-making while maintaining a strong focus on proven engineering practice and Safe System principles.
Throughout the event, attendees also had the opportunity to visit the iRAP and LabTrans booth, where a series of meetings and discussions took place on the development and application of iRAP technologies and tools in Brazil. Visitors engaged with the iRAP and LabTrans teams on a range of topics, including AI-enabled road assessments, infrastructure risk management, capacity building, and the growing role of data-driven approaches in advancing safer road infrastructure and outcomes.
As interest in digital transformation across the transport sector continues to grow, conversations at Paving Expo reinforced the importance of combining innovation with proven road safety methodologies to help save lives and prevent serious injuries. By harnessing technology alongside engineering expertise and quality data, road authorities can accelerate progress towards a world free of high-risk roads.
