PL002. Safe mobility in Transition: Artificial Intelligence, Human Factors and Data-Driven Solutions

Abstract Road traffic injuries remain a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. At the same time, the mobility landscape is rapidly changing; artificial intelligence (AI), automation, connected vehicles, and big data analytics are opening new opportunities to predict risks, to optimize traffic flow, and to design safer systems. At the same time, persistent human factors such as distraction, fatigue, risk-taking behaviors, and inequalities between different groups of road users, continue to drive most crashes. The critical challenge, today, is how to integrate cutting-edge technologies with a deep understanding of human behavior to create safe, inclusive, and sustainable mobility systems. Global organizations including the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have set ambitious targets under the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021–2030 and the WHO Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030. These emphasize Vision Zero, standardized data-driven indicators, equity for vulnerable users, and system resilience to effectively address emerging crises, such as climate change and extreme urbanization, and other megatrends. Data fragmentation, ethical dilemmas around AI deployment, and the uneven adoption of innovative solutions across regions remain major barriers. New breakthroughs are reshaping the field of safe mobility through innovations such as AI-enabled risk prediction and driver assistance systems, integration of behavioral science into urban mobility planning, large-scale interoperable data sharing platforms for traffic surveillance, and advanced simulation models for safety evaluation. Coordinated efforts within the EU Road Safety Cluster projects (e.g. the EU-funded project AI4CCAM’s for trustworthy AI and models predicting vulnerable road user behaviors, HEIDI’s adaptive human–machine interfaces, PHOEBE’s city-level predictive frameworks, SOTERIA’s inclusive safety intelligence, and ProtAct-Us’ standardized assessments of the long-term physical, cognitive, and mental health impacts of road crashes) demonstrate how AI, simulation, and human factors combine to enhance urban safety. At the same time, EU education and training actions, i.e., namely the ‘IVORY - AI for Vision Zero in Road Safety’ industrial doctorates network, of the Marie-Sklodowska Curie programme, aim to train a new generation of leading researchers with a broad understanding of the interdisciplinary challenges of AI in road safety (engineering, human factors, ethics and data science). These advances promise substantial reductions in human error and transformational improvements in safety management. In parallel, real-time systems enable cross-border vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, facilitating synchronized intelligent transport systems along major European corridors. Smart infrastructure projects use sensor-driven technologies and real-time hazard detection to proactively warn drivers of road risks, markedly lowering accident rates. Meanwhile, the Common European Mobility Data Space and pilot data platforms in Amsterdam, Helsinki, and Porto exemplify efforts to unify scalable, interoperable traffic data ecosystems, supporting effective policymaking and environmental benefits. This session confronts the urgent challenges of safe mobility through the lenses of technology, human behavior, and policy. The panel will illustrate how trustworthy AI and robust system verification can deliver reliable and transparent automation while underscoring the indispensable role of human factors and behavioral insights in crash reduction. Key discussions will tackle pressing issues around governance, cross-system interoperability, societal acceptance, and the integration of vulnerable users’ needs into inclusive safety planning. Drawing on cutting-edge research and policy experience, the discussion will highlight strategies to embed safety into transport systems through data-driven governance, risk analysis, and evidence-based implementation. Beyond reviewing progress, the panel will chart the next steps: harmonizing data across borders, embedding ethical AI into mobility governance, ensuring equity for all road users, and strengthening collaboration between science, policy, and industry. It will conclude with a forward-looking agenda for innovation that keeps human safety and societal needs at the center of mobility transformation.