Enhancing research approaches to transport safety
Safety has come a long way in Europe's transport sector, but there are still many unnecessary accidents happening that oblige the EU to improve transport safety standards in every way possible. The EU-funded project 'Exploiting safety results across transportation modes' (EXCROSS) worked on improving exchanges and synergies among safety research initiatives in road, rail, air and sea transport. EXCROSS first established a common understanding of safety principles for all transport modes and identified the main stakeholders required to further its vision. It collected and analysed past research initiatives on safety aspects and disseminated the results to stakeholders. Previous EU-funded transport projects related to safety were ranked and a database of transferable knowledge to upgrade safety in the sector was created. Evaluating fragmentation in safety initiatives among the different transport means, the project looked at specific opportunities for cross-fertilisation and at existing synergies that could be enhanced. Project members identified seven topics that were common to all four transport modes and selected the ones that showed the most promise in cross-fertilisation. These ranged from certification and dangerous goods to safety assessment and enhancement. For each topic, the potential synergies and cross-fertilisation opportunities between different transport modes and the identification of common research gaps were outlined. Hints for future activities were also proposed for each of the seven topics. They include long-term research directions, joint policymaking and short-term use of safety best practices throughout the industry. Project partners collaborated on key topics to produce safety recommendations, guidelines and priorities in order to study safety more effectively. EXCROSS outcomes will help deliver improved, cost-efficient and optimised safety research across transport modes. People travelling by land, air and sea will feel safer for years to come.
Keywords
Transport safety, accidents, transportation
