News

At SAFER, we often highlight how collaboration across disciplines is key to building a safe and sustainable transport system. During our fifth Research Day of the year, we brought together researchers and experts from our 46 partners to share results, discuss societal impact, and identify future research questions. This time, the focus was on Horizon Europe 2025 calls, societal readiness, and project results within our research area Safety Performance Evaluation.

Highlights of the day:

• Paul Hemeren, University of Skövde presented how cognitive abilities can be supported through driver monitoring. His research shows that Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) contribute to safer driving behaviors, but subjective safety perception and gender differences need further analysis.
• Ruo Jia, Chalmers University of Technology, showcased machine learning and data-driven analysis for identifying risky traffic scenarios—an approach with significant potential to improve traffic safety.
• Tayssir Bouraffa, Chalmers University of Technology, introduced the ViDCoM project, focusing on health-based monitoring to complement current DMS by detecting sudden medical conditions. Partners are welcome to join this continued  initiative!
• Suzanna Kraak, DG Research & Innovation from the European Commission, highlighted societal readiness and the importance of integrating societal needs into research projects - a key component in upcoming Horizon Europe calls.
• Sanna Eveby, Guidance to Zero, provided good examples of reporting on safety culture. She highlighted that although many transport-heavy organizations have traffic safety policies, less than 50% systematically report on road safety in their sustainability work. Examples of measurable KPIs include speed, mobile phone use, seatbelt compliance, incident reporting, and alcohol and drug testing. "What gets measured gets done," she reminded us.
• Tania Dukic Willstrand, DuWill, mapped global accident databases - a much-anticipated resource for our partners, now available in SAFER’s Data Catalog.
• Sanna Eveby and Suzanne Falk Göteborgs Stad discussed how hashtag#VisionZero knowledge can be transferred to new generations. They emphasised the need for interdisciplinary approaches and education to anchor road safety in broader sustainability work.

Thank you to all speakers and participants for an inspiring day! 🎉
Want to know more about the project results? SAFER partners can access the material at SAFER Inside here.