
SLAIN Project (Saving Lives Assessing and Improving TEN-T Road Network Safety)
Duration: April 2019- March 2021
Budget: EUR 1,870,570
Vision
Road safety in Europe has improved thanks to the different actions taken at European, national and local levels. Although some Member States continue to make considerable progress, EU-wide road fatality rates have stagnated in recent years.
To work towards the implementation of both the United Nations and European Commission goals on road safety and especially supporting authorities in the reporting requirements of the Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management, a more systematic approach to safer road infrastructure is needed.
EuroRAP is addressing this through a programme of systematic risk assessment and by identifying shortcomings that can be addressed by practical road improvement measures.
Objectives
The project’s Action fits in the EC’s 2010 Communication ‘Towards a European Road Safety Area’ and aims to contribute to the long-term goal for zero road deaths in 2050.
With partners in the different countries, Project SLAIN is a transnational project aiming to extend the skills and knowledge base of partners in performing network-wide road assessment.
The main areas to be covered within the SLAIN project are
- Demonstration of a methodology of network-wide assessment
- Assessment of the Safety Performance Management of the TEN-T core road network and, if possible beyond, in 4 European countries: Croatia, Italy, Greece and Spain where we will perform road surveys (10,000 km of mapping)
- Proposals of section-specific, economically-viable crash countermeasures designed to raise infrastructure quality to achieve significant reductions in severe injuries and deaths
- Preparation of the readiness of Europe’s physical infrastructure for automation
Partners
The SLAIN consortium consists of eight core partners, coming from six EU member states, namely Greece, Italy, Spain, Croatia, UK and Belgium. The objectives of SLAIN are covered in a collective way in this consortium. The partners have structured a solid, experienced, well-balanced and motivated consortium that will best accomplish the objectives set both by the RISM directive, as well as those set by the SLAIN project in all its stages. As far as the geographical spread and coverage of the consortium is concerned, the locations of the project partners are considered to be relevant for the successful execution of the SLAIN project and the further exploitation of its results.
List of partners: EuroRAP – Project Coordinator, Anas, FPZ, RSI Panos Mylonas, RACC-ACASA, DGT Spain, SCT Spain, TES Spain (Catalonia), iRAP
Project Structure
The project is set out in 8 activities to support and encourage the proposed changes to Directive 2008/96/EC and Prepare for Automation:
objective = to produce maps showing total risk as an overall part of network-wide road assessment.
The task concerns the cartography relating crash data to traffic across the core TEN-T and if possible, the primary network in Croatia, Greece, Italy (on the core network of the Italian beneficiary ANAS) and Spain with particular attention to the Catalonian core road section. A Risk Map of death and serious injury will be produced for each country.
objective = the production of maps showing the total risk as an overall part of network-wide road assessment, together with investment plans.
The work in this activity mainly involves the Road Survey and Data analysis leading to producing Star Ratings (SR) and Development of Safer Roads Investment Plans (SRIP). As Greece has recent data, it will not repeat this exercise.
Objective = to compare network-wide road assessment alongside other methods providing information and know-how to countries who are yet to carry out network assessment.
There will be a review of different forms of network-wide road assessment and a comparison of these strategies with traditional “crash cluster” and “hot spot” approaches. This will use the data available from Greece and data from one or more other countries, subject to suitable data availability, to explain and provide a rationale for potential users of a network assessment approach.
Objective = to build on material used in activity 3 to produce a step-by-step guide for the practitioner.
This is a guide which will explain the circumstances, data and steps required to perform a network-wide road assessment. It will be a document of approximately 20-30 pages presented in an easy-to-use and understand style that will be targeted particularly at policy-makers and those without first-hand engineering experience.
Objective = the production of a technical report. In particular, the report will include an analysis of road survey data for roads held in the iRAP ViDA data platform.
The purpose of this module is to provide to the European Commission a more formal estimate than previously available of the overall safety of the Core TEN-T and primary network and demonstrate what must be done to improve that.
A secondary objective is that, using data from Greece, it will be possible to show the detailed applications now possible within ViDA.
Objective= the collection of a series of approximately 100 examples or case studies in total using the five techniques (A-E).
Case Study A: Risk Mapping to guide selective Star Rating
Case Study B: Before and after studies of network upgrading
Case study C: Identifying road sections to install 2+1 barrier
Case study D: Maintenance-only remedies
Case study E: Network-wide road assessment and Star Rating from design plans
Objective= to perform a three-part study to show readiness of physical infrastructure for automation.
Preparing the physical infrastructure for automation stresses the importance of the readiness of the physical road infrastructure for automation which should gradually be complemented by digital infrastructure.
Objective = to include continuous project management and communication and dissemination activities.
Expected outcomes
The project results comprise the means for enabling partners to accomplish a common view and approach in deploying road assessment tools and to build on the material to support the discussions of both Directive 2008/96/EC and CCAM Single Platform.
The SLAIN Consortium will validate a set of recommendations on the requirements for AVs with respect to Digital and Physical Infrastructure in the 4 member states. These results will be published in 2021.
Eventually, the SLAIN project will pave the way for future actions that will integrate Road Assessment Programmes in Europe, with a focus on saving lives.
Deliverables
Brochures
Presentations
Contacts
Shona Holroyd
shona.holroyd@eurorap.org
Kate Fuller – Technical Coordinator
kate.fuller@roadsafetyfoundation.org
Link to Newsletter: section-specific, economically-viable crash countermeasures.
EuroRAP social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/EuroRAPCommunications
Twitter: twitter.com/EuroRAP
Co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the EU
Co-funding from the European motor industry and other partners for work in Croatia, Greece, Italy and Spain