news

EU research project develops recommendations for future policies on harmonisation towards safer and greener roads: TYROSAFE. To view the Press Release, please click more.

EU research project develops recommendations for future policies on harmonisation towards safer and greener roads: TYROSAFE

The results of the European project TYROSAFE will encourage public authorities of EU-member states to use existing and new research knowledge, to reduce fatalities, and promote environmental compatibility of road surfaces. The main objectives of the project were to raise awareness, to coordinate and prepare for European harmonization, and to optimize the assessment and management of essential tyre/road interaction parameters, in order to increase safety and support greening of European road transport. The most significant project outcomes are the Recommendations for Future Policies concerning road surface properties, the Roadmap and Implementation Plan for harmonisation of skid resistance measurement techniques, and the report on Influences of Road Surface Properties on skid resistance, rolling resistance, noise emissions, their interdependencies, and the investigation of their interaction with climatic change.

Environmental questions concerning noise pollution, air quality, and consumption of energy are becoming more and more important. Research has shown that road surface properties can be used to achieve increased safety and reduced environmental impact of road traffic. Drivers need sufficient grip between tyres and the road to accelerate, decelerate or change direction. This grip is provided by the skid resistance properties of the road surface and friction characteristics of the tyre, accordingly showing the complex interactions between vehicles, tyres and road surfaces. With a sufficiently high level of skid resistance, the safety of roads can be improved and the number of accidents can be reduced.

TYROSAFE (Tyre and Road Surface Optimisation for Skid resistance And Further Effects) is a Coordination Action funded by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme, consisting of seven European partners. The two-year project began on 1 July 2008. The final event of the TYROSAFE project took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 10 June 2010 in the framework of the Transport Research Arena 2010 and will officially be ending on 30 June 2010. The assembly was organized around different workshops, reports, and presentations of the projects findings from the past two years.

The TYROSAFE contribution will particularly encourage the public authorities of the Member States to use existing and new research knowledge, to reduce fatalities and promote environmental compatibility of road surfaces. In addition, the project creates a solid scientific background for further research on the development of harmonised policies, with regard to essential road surface properties.

The results of the project include a thorough evaluation of the role of the key road surface parameters, skid resistance, rolling resistance and noise emissions of road surfaces in the context of the European road transport system, including their interdependencies and the interaction with the climate.

TYROSAFE has managed to provide an overview of the remaining knowledge gaps to be assessed, as well as provide recommendations for managing essential road surface properties. A possible way to the future harmonisation of policies and assessment methods were shown. The implementation of the proposed policies and recommendations will, in the end, depend on decisions made by stakeholders in road transport, like road administrations and transport ministries, which goes beyond the scope of this project.

Common and compatible assessment management of road surface parameters in Europe will in turn provide more safety and reduced environmental impact. Wider implications are the reduction of accidents and the reduction of CO2, air pollutant and noise emission from road traffic. This will benefit both the European economy and the general public, relying on road transport as an efficient, safe and ecologically sustainable transportation system.

A project video and additional information is available on the project website: http://tyrosafe.fehrl.org

The website contains documentation available for download by visitors. These include TYROSAFEs public deliverables, other project reports, project presentations, invitations to TYROSAFE events, promotional material, and newsletters.

TYROSAFE sponsored an online video competition (on YouTube) to highlight the importance and raise awareness about the interactions between tyres, roads and safety. The winners were awarded during the final event of Tyrosafe in Bruxelles.

 

Project Coordinator	Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT),Giefinggasse 2, 1210 Vienna - Austria Mr Manfred Haider, manfred.haider@ait.ac.at, phone : +43 (50) 550 62 56
More Information	FEHRL, Blvd de la Woluwe 42, 1200 Brussels – Belgium Ms. Valerie Henry, valerie.henry@fehrl.org, phone : +32 2 775 82 44
Partners	FEHRL (Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories), Belgium; AIT (österreichisches Forschungs- und Prüfzentrum Arsenal GmbH), Austria; BASt (Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen), Germany; RWS DVS (Rijkswaterstaat Dienst Verkeer en Scheepvaart - Ministry of Transport and Navigation), The Netherlands; ZAG (Zavod za gradbeništvo Slovenije Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute), Slovenia; LCPC (Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées), France TRL Limited(Transport Research Laboratory), United Kingdom

Comments: Press Release - TYROSAFE