EFA in Norway
As it has been every 2 years since 2006, the Føreropplæringskonferansen conference was held in 2024. This year, it was held in Stjørdal (Norway) from 21st to 22nd November.
Each edition is attended by around 250-300 people, this year there were over 280 participants, mostly driving instructors.
The conference manager association is FFTP, a group of organizations that deals with road safety and how to improve the skills of driving teachers especially in the domain of pedagogy (more info at www.fftp.no )
The main stakeholders were the government, the driving school association and the university, all the main actors working together to achieve the goal of Vision 0: to achieve zero deaths on the roads by 2050.
This year’s topic focused on how the driving teacher’s skill is very important to achieve the goal of Vision 0.
During the 2 days several topics were covered, Mr. Per Ove Sercan Husevik, CEO Sunnhordland Trafikopplæring AS, Chairman of the Board NTSF Norwegian Traffic School Association and Boardmember of the NTU (the Nordic Union of Driving Schools Associations) describes the most significant topics on which the lectures were held: “We talked about the culture of young people when driving, traffic safety strategy, driving teacher’s competence, pedagogical challenges and solutions and how to work to achieve Vision 0. A special mention was dedicated to how we are working in Europe and colleague Stefan Ebner (Vice President EFA) spoke about the Austrian way, especially regarding the second phase of the driving license”.
The last important topic discussed during the conference was the re-approval of the driving teachers in Norway started in 2025.
The system provides that every driving teacher need to take 5 days of courses every 5 years to be allowed to practice.
Per Ove and Stefan Ebner
Stefan Ebner
Stefan Ebner
FitDrive – Online workshop
Standardization of drivers’ fatigue measurement
On November 13th ETSC organized a webinar to draw attention to the risks associated with fatigue while driving, addressed in the FITDrive Project.
The President of AIPSS, Mr. Carlo Polidori, opened the proceedings, describing the latest progress achieved by the FITDrive Project, as well as his ambition to create an international standard to measure fatigue.
Most of the systems currently used on vehicles to recognize the state of fatigue of a driver are not codified in a recognized international System, often they are based on limited research studies by car manufacturers.
The intervention of the Executive Director of ETSC, Mr. Antonio Avenoso, was highly appreciated, who presented the latest statistics on road accidents and the current difficulty in European countries to reach the ten-year objectives set by the European Commission to reduce road deaths by 50%.
The focus of Mr. Avenoso’s presentation was on heavy vehicle accidents and the consequences that these have on other road users, especially vulnerable users. The recent ETSC publication on heavy vehicles is a reference point for gathering information on the state of the art of professional mobility, with some important recommendations for companies and legislators.
Then there was the intervention of the EFA Secretary General, Mr. Manuel Picardi, who described the role of the European federation in the Project: collecting data on the training systems currently in place in at least 20 European countries; organizing part of the training sessions to test the devices for detecting fatigue while driving; creating specific training modules to be disseminated to transport companies during their training courses and imagining modules to be included in a new European training curriculum, based on the EFA Training Matrix for professional drivers.
The FITDrive Project will end in February 2025, with the final event at the European Parliament, where the results and final conclusions of the 3-year work will be presented
FITDrive Webinar
EFA meets MEPs of TRAN Commission and DG MOVE
On Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th November, an EFA delegation together with a group of Italian key players in the road safety sector went to the European Parliament to meet with some recently elected Italian MEPs, some members of the TRAN Commission and then a visit to DG MOVE.
EFA had the opportunity to introduce itself and make its activities and ambitions known, reiterating the main role of driving training carried out by European driving schools and the need to introduce mandatory driving courses more focused on risk awareness and responsibilities associated with road safety.
A special thanks was addressed to the MEPs who welcomed the delegation and showed great availability for dialogue: MEP Matteo Ricci (PD – S&D), MEP Flavio Tosi and MEP Massimiliano Salini (PPE), MEP Elena Donazzan, MEP Carlo Fidanza and MEP Pietro Fiocchi (ECR Group) and MEP Paolo Borchia (Patriots).
On Tuesday 19th the delegation went to see M.me Clair Depré, the head of unit at DG MOVE in the domain of road safety.
Among the topics discussed were the forecast of the next publication of the new Driving Licence Directive (in the absence of any delays, expected for the beginning of 2025) and the difficulties related to the diffusion of vehicles powered by alternative fuels to oil (electric and hydrogen).
Special thanks also go to ConfCommercio Mobilità which organised the meetings with the Institutions at the European Parliament.
M.me Clair Deprè
MEP Carlo Fidanza
MEP Elena Donazzan
MEP Flavio Tosi
MEP Massimiliano Salini
MEP Matteo Ricci
MEP Paolo Borchia
MEP Pietro Fiocchi
A neuroscientific approach for investigating mental fatigue
Biomarkers in simulated driving trials
A new EFA report in cooperation with ITCL, AIPSS and BrainSigns has been published after the RSS event in Kentucky.
A non-adequate psychophysical condition represents a major cause of road accidents. In particular, almost the 20% of crashes are caused by mental fatigue, with dramatic consequences. Investigation of fatigue early signs becomes crucial to develop tools able to recognise in advance the onset of fatigue episodes. This is extremely relevant for professional drivers who drive for prolonged periods.
Read the full document
ERSC Awards
On November 14th, the European Commission organized the award ceremony for the best European projects in the field of road safety. 5 topics were covered: urban areas, education, technology and innovation, motorcycling, Pedestrian and cyclists.
The Winner for the Urban section was the "project 30" of the Municipality of Bologna (recently presented at the EFA-ERSC event in Milan on October 25th) presented by City Councilor Valentina Orioli.
For the Education section, the “Learn” project by ETSC won.
For the Motorcycle section, the “Special road markings on bend” project by KFV won.
For the Pedestrian and Cyclists section, the “Alternative Mobility Strategy” project from Axencia Galega de Infrastruturas won.
For the Technology and innovation section, the “Traffic lights of the future” from Centre for Traffic Management Bavaria won.
ERASC the winners
Manuel Picardi – Khristin Smit – Valentina Orioli
Effective campaign strategies for road safety equipment
Effective marketing campaigns are vital in promoting safety equipment on the road. They can raise awareness, change attitudes, and ultimately encourage behavioural change among different types of road users. In this webinar, we will examine best practices in Europe and provide useful tips and tricks on how to develop these types of awareness campaigns.
Register at
EU should set mandatory safety standards for e-scooters, including 20 km/h maximum speed
A new report published by the European Transport Safety Council calls for the development of mandatory technical requirements for all e-scooters sold in the European Union to replace the current patchwork of national requirements, and voluntary standards. The standards should include a speed limiter set at 20 km/h as well as stability, minimum braking and maximum acceleration requirements, according to ETSC.
The researchers recommend that national governments set a minimum age of 16 for e-scooter riders, a requirement for mandatory helmets, as well as a ban on riding after consuming alcohol or drugs or riding with passengers.
“E-scooters are now an established and popular way of getting around in urban areas in the EU. However, they also come with a degree of risk that needs addressing more effectively than today. With the right combination of a safer urban traffic environment, safer vehicles and safer rider behaviour, we can ensure that the roads are safer for e-scooter riders as well as cyclists and pedestrians.”
Jenny Carson, co-author of the report said:
In national data from European countries, the researchers found 119 road deaths in 2022 in collisions involving ‘motorised micro-mobility devices’ – a category of personal light electric vehicle that is dominated by e-scooters but also includes rarer vehicles such as electric unicycles. While this figure was an increase on previous years, that may be due simply to increased numbers of e-scooter riders. The researchers are calling for more data on e-scooter usage to understand better the risk levels, which, according to some previous analyses, are higher than for cycling.
Many crashes and injuries involving e-scooters only involve the rider, and no other road users. In such cases, police may not be called to the scene, leading to the possibility that the collision is not reported in national data. More needs to be done at national level to link hospital data to police records in order to gain a fuller picture of injury rates.
Reported e-scooter-related deaths often involve alcohol, with the limited data available showing that between half and two-thirds of those killed had consumed alcohol before riding. Countermeasures against drink-riding should include legal limits with appropriate levels of enforcement. In Finland and Norway, city authorities have required shared e-scooter providers to limit speed at night, or banned shared e-scooters altogether during night hours – measures which resulted in a reduction in injuries.
30 km/h speed limits in urban areas are one of the main tools cities can use to reduce the risks for e-scooter users in urban areas. Drivers of cars, vans and lorries travelling at 30 km/h or less are much less likely to kill vulnerable road users such as e-scooter riders, pedestrians and cyclists.
Some existing EU product regulations apply to e-scooters, for example rules covering machinery and batteries, however there is no mandatory single standard for e-scooters covering factors such as stability, maximum speed and braking performance. In the absence of EU regulation, several EU member states including Germany and Spain, have developed their own national standards for the vehicles. ETSC recommends that the EU develop a single set of mandatory technical requirements, including a mandatory top speed limit of 20 km/h, set at the factory. 11 European countries already require a 20 km/h maximum speed for e-scooters at national level.
New standards should also require a minimum level of braking performance, a limit on maximum acceleration, front and rear brakes, an audible warning device (such as a bell), as well as front and rear lights, according to ETSC.
The EU has mandatory safety standards for new cars, vans and lorries which include the fitting of automated emergency braking systems that can help prevent crashes with pedestrians and cyclists. However, such systems are not currently required to recognise e-scooter riders. ETSC says the standard needs to be updated soon, as it takes years for new safety technologies to reach the majority of all vehicles on the road.
Download the report at: www.etsc.eu/pinflash47
Invitation to Participate in the EU Road Safety Framework Assessment
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) has contracted an independent consortium led by Ramboll Management Consulting SA/NV, in collaboration with Transport Mobility Leuven and ISINNOVA, to conduct a study supporting the assessment of the EU’s road safety framework 2021-2030 at its mid-point.
In this context, we are pleased to invite you to participate in a survey designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the EU road safety framework. Your expertise and insights are essential to understand how current policies contribute to the EU's goal of safer roads and to identify areas where the framework could be strengthened.
The survey aims to gather feedback on different aspects of the framework, including national and EU-level initiatives, emerging trends, and cross-sector cooperation. Your responses will directly contribute to a comprehensive study evaluating the progress of the framework towards its objectives.
The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete, and your participation will be extremely valuable in shaping the direction of future road safety initiatives. All data will remain confidential as conclusions will be presented at an aggregated level and these will be used solely for the purposes of this study.
To participate to the survey, please use the link below:
https://surveys.ramboll.com/LinkCollector?key=MTML35AMLJ95
