Safety in focus at European Transport Conference, ETC 2014

Road user safety will be a key priority for the upcoming European Transport Conference, ETC 2014. This 42nd transportation event is being held at Goethe University in the German city of Frankfurt from 29th September to 1st October. A series of safety sessions has been announced for ETC 2014, while traffic management will also be a focus, with sessions including Cycling the Green Wave and Phantom Jam Avoidance. The Traffic Management, Traffic Engineering and Road Safety sessions will also include: urban traffic management policy and application, focussing on capacity and congestion management, air quality impacts and collision reduction; data based techniques for inter-urban highway congestion management, traffic prediction and relationships between infrastructure and safety; developments in infrastructure, regulation and technology to support growth in cycling; data collection and applications aimed at providing information and benefits to both travellers and managing authorities.

The organisers say that this event provides an important link between research, policy and practice. Speakers are asked to draw out the policy implications of research – not to only concentrate on the design and operation of a model, for example. Equally, practitioners and policy makers are encouraged to relate their presentations to the research behind the implementation of schemes and policies.

The range of topics and the multi-seminar approach is also said to distinguish the ETC among transport conferences held in Europe. The Conference programme covers supra-national issues, national and local policy, and the implementation of projects at a local level. Issues of key importance are picked out each year for special examination and will be introduced in daily plenary sessions.