Welcome to theERTICO - ITS Europe

Welcome to theERTICO - ITS Europe

In this issue:

May 2012

Bringing Intelligent Vehicles to the road

19th ITS World Congress preliminary programme revealed

ITS & Energy Efficiency: Driving down motoring costs

contents

Welcome to our 2nd edition!

Buoyed by the warm reception of the

first edition of our eMagazine, we

have been hard at work on bringing

you the most interesting stories from

the world of ITS for our second issue.

This month we concentrate on two

of the year’s key events: European

project euroFOT’s final event and the

19th ITS World Congress in Vienna.

After 3 years of research for

evaluating the impact of advance

driver assistance system (ADAS) in

real traffic situations, euroFOT has

come to an end. Over a year 1 000

equipped vehicles have been driven

and tested on European roads. The

project results will be shared with

stakeholders this June (26 and 27).

The 19th ITS World Congress, also

known as ITS Vienna 2012, will kick

off on 22 October for the following

week. More information, speakers,

events are to come but we have

the unique opportunity to guide you

through the preliminary programme

and to give you the anticipation of

what will happen during this never-

ending week.

Last but not least, we look at

passenger vehicle emission standards,

their impact on fuel costs for drivers

and highlight the importance of ITS

in reducing emissions and saving

motorists money.

We hope this latest issue of the

ERTICO eMagazine will pique your

interest as we strive to bring you

more news and analysis from the

world of ITS next month.

The Editorial Team

Welcome!

Bringing Intelligent Vehicles to the road

19th ITS World Congress

preliminary programme

revealed

ERTICO Partnership events

ITS & Efficiency: Driving down motoring costs

2

3

6

11

12

The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are solely those of the authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of ERTICO or its Partners.

3

The European Commission strongly

backs advanced driver assistance

systems and their widespread

deployment. A large scale European-

level FOT is an important means of

verifying the real-world impacts of

new systems at a European level and

in particular to verify that European-

level R&D has the potential to deliver

identifiable benefits.

On 26-27 June 2012, the results of

the first large-scale European Field

Operational Test (FOT) on active

safety systems – euroFOT – will be

unveiled. The aim is to show the

public – as well as decision makers

and ITS stakeholders - the positive

impact active safety systems can

bring when it comes to safety, traffic

and fuel efficiency. The euroFOT final

event will showcase the results of

over 100 terabytes of data collected

on European roads over the course

of 12 months, as well as present

the lessons learnt during this unique

experiment.

The importance of a FOT is that

ordinary drivers’ behaviour is studied

in real traffic. What is needed is

to understand what the effect of

using these systems is, and what

the impact on the driver and his

behaviour in real-world traffic is.

This is why a comprehensive array of

28 organisations - car manufacturers,

suppliers, universities, research

by Henry Wasung

It is axiomatic within the ITS industry that many if not all of the problems faced by Europe’s roads can be tackled

through the application of ITS in various forms. Road safety, traffic and fuel efficiency, air quality, journey times

– even the driving experience itself – there is no aspect of road transport that ITS applications can’t improve.

But do the general public – the final consumers of most of these applications - agree? And what happens when

they actually get their hands on these applications? Do they use and appreciate them? Would they pay for them,

demand them?

Bringing Intelligent Vehicles to the road

Longitudinal control functions

• FCW: Forward Collision Warning

• ACC: Adaptive Cruise Control

• SRS: Speed Regulation System

Lateral control functions

• BLIS: Blind Spot Information System

• LDW: Lane Departure Warning and IW: Impairment Warning

Advanced applications

• CSW: Curve Speed Warning

• FEA: Fuel Efficiency Advisor

• SafeHMI: Safe Human Machine Interaction

3

institutes and other stakeholders –

from ten different countries joined

together in May 2008 in this EU

co-funded project. Their goal: to

rigorously assess the effectiveness

of eight active safety systems on

actual roads with real drivers, while

determining how they perform with

regard to the intended objectives.

What is the key to a successful and

ultimately useful FOT? A statistically

significant number of real-life test

drivers or vehicles? Massive amounts

of data? A sound analysis of driver

behaviour and user acceptance?

Unobtrusive monitoring equipment

and well-designed questionnaires?

Transferability and comparability

of results? Of course the answer is

a well designed package of all the

above elements.

To this end, euroFOT used the

methodology developed by the

FESTA project, dividing work into

three stages: preparing, using, and

analysing. With the project nearing

completion, the final sub-stage of

socio-economic cost benefit analysis

has recently been completed.

So, after one year of field testing

the 8 distinct functions assisting an

impressive 1200 everyday drivers

with 1000 vehicles on European roads

in detecting hazards, preventing

accidents and making driving more

efficient, the euroFOT consortium

is finalising the analysis of over

100 terabytes of data collected on

European roads over the course of 12

months. The data was collected using

a multitude of sensors and devices

monitoring every aspect of individual

driver behaviour in real-world traffic

conditions. The consortium has

worked flat out to complete this final

FESTA Methodology

FESTA, an EU co-funded project running from November 2007 to April

2008, was devoted to creating a methodology for field operational

tests.

The FESTA methodology, explained in the FESTA handbook provides

practical guidance for developing well-designed FOTs, and it also

ensures the comparability and transferability of FOT results.

One important aspect of the FESTA methodology is the clear division

of a FOT project into three stages: Preparing, Using and Analysing. It

is this sequence which inspires and guides the design of the euroFOT

final event exhibition.

The task of updating FESTA has now been taken over by FOT-Net which

has released a revised version of the FESTA handbook in 2011. An

interactive version of the FESTA handbook is available here.

piece of the puzzle in time for the

final event in June.

To put that massive number of 100

TB into context, 45 Terabytes (1 TB,

or 1000000000000 bytes, from the

Greek tera, meaning monster) are

equal to the first 20 years worth of

observations by the Hubble Space

Telescope; and there are 235TB of

data in the US Library of Congress.

Clearly a huge task, and that amount

of useful data deserves as much

analysis as possible.

So far preliminary results, using time-

The euroFOT final event will take place at Autoworld, Brussels, 26-27 June 2012.

Autoworld is located in the exclusive buildings of the Parc du Cinquantenaire, one of the most beautiful locations in Brussels and an emblem of architectonic heritage. With its 250 beautifully preserved and restored cars, it is one of the most impressive collections of Europe and most probably also of the world; the perfect venue for the euroFOT final event!

Address:Autoworld

Parc du Cinquantenaire 111000 Brussels

based driver questionnaires, look

positive, especially when it comes to

user acceptance and traffic safety.

The test drivers were somewhat

sceptical of the utility of the systems

originally. However, when they began

using them, 70% of drivers became

convinced of their usefulness (the

lane departure warning application

in this case).

What’s more, results have shown that

there are positive secondary impacts

to using active safety systems:

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), for

5

instance,

proved to help

reduce fuel

consumption by 7%

overall – the added

value of the system

thus extends beyond

traffic safety.

The euroFOT final

event will allow ITS

stakeholders, policy

makers and the

general public to

see and experience

the active safety

systems in

simulators - and

talk to the euroFOT

experts.

A comprehensive programme

will take visitors from the design

and methodology, practical

considerations and data management

through to an in-depth analysis

of results and impact and cost

benefit assessment. The opening

ceremony will feature high level

representatives from the European

Commission and the euroFOT

consortium. In the exhibition area,

visitors will experience and be guided

through the euroFOT project in three

sequential stages - Preparing, Using

and Analysing – derived from the

FESTA methodology.

The event is open to all upon

registration, including politicians,

marketing representatives,

researchers, as well as others

interested or involved in FOTs

and experts who deal with data

assessment and cost-benefit analysis.

19th ITS World Congress preliminary programme revealedA complete guide from the first to the last day of the most remarkable ITS event of 2012 by the Editorial Team

After months of meticulous work for the selection of the papers and the organisation of the sessions, the

preliminary programme of the 19th ITS World Congress has finally been unveiled. With over 1 000 papers

submitted from the three regions Europe, Asia-Pacific and Americas, and over 800 selected by a group of experts,

this year Congress is expected to be one of the most exciting events of 2012.

Plenary, Executive, Technical and

Scientific, Special and Interactive

sessions have been organised for a

total of 231 meetings in four days.

10 000 ITS experts, politicians and

industry people from all over the

world are expected to flock to Vienna

from 22 to 26 October and make the

19th ITS World Congress memorable.

Here you will find a comprehensive

guide of the programme which will

give you an in-depth overview of all

the activities and events happening

at the Congress to get to Vienna well-

prepared and to make the most of

this event.

Plenary Sessions

This year confirmed VIP speakers

include European Commission Vice-

Presidents Siim Kallas, responsible

for Transport, and Neelie Kroes,

responsible for Digital Agenda;

Austrian Minister of Transport Doris

Bures, and Michael Häupl, Mayor of

Vienna. Peter Sweatman, Chairman,

and Scott Belcher, President and

CEO, will stand for ITS America while

Hiroyuki Watanabe, Chairman of

ITS Japan and Tae-ho Doh, Director

General of the Road Policy Bureau -

Korean Ministry of Land, Transport

and Maritime Affairs will be among

the representatives of the Asia-Pacific

region. More European speakers

will be represented by ERTICO - ITS

Europe and Valentina Matviyenko,

former Mayor of St Petersburg and

now Chairman of the Federation

Council, Russian Federation.

From the industry side, the meetings

will host Georg Kapsch, CEO of

Kapsch; Vivek Badrinath, CEO of

Orange Business Services; and Ton

Steenman, Vice President Intel

Architecture Group, and General

Manager Intelligent Systems Group.

As every year, in addition to the

Opening and Closing Ceremonies,

three Plenary Sessions have been

organised as a “forum debate”

moderated by Melinda Crane. High

level speakers representing public

authorities and the private sector

will be together all at the same time

discussing present-day topics and

reflecting on future actions.

The first Plenary Session will focus on

the achievements so far accomplished

by ITS and future goals; political and

industry leaders will describe how

intelligent transport solutions are

shaping today’s transport system in

terms of connectivity, reliability,

safety, security and comfort for

users. The session will also look

at ambitions for seamless and

integrated transport.

The second Plenary will look in

detail at converging and new

mobile technologies, and how policy

makers, industry and users can take

advantage of the so-called Internet

of things.

The third and final Plenary Session

will address transformations within

the society such as climate change,

growing congestion, increasing

urbanisation and aging population,

and evaluate how connectivity will

influence global mobility.

The Conclusions’ Session will take

place on 26 October just before the

3rd Plenary and the main outcomes

of the Congress and future views will

be discussed.

And finally the Closing Ceremony will

conclude the Congress; in addition

to the distinctive “Passing the Globe

Ceremony” from Vienna to Tokyo

- host of the ITS World Congress in

2013 - the winners of the Best Papers

Award and of the ERTICO Video Award

will be celebrated.

Executive Sessions

From Tuesday 23 October to Thursday

25 October, the International

Programme Committee has set up

12 Executive Sessions and invited

international industry speakers

and public officials to share their

experiences and points of view with

the audience.

Next generation communication

technologies, internet-based

applications and devices, traffic

management infrastructures,

vehicles safety system, GNSS

services together with international

cooperation, sustainable and smart

mobility, will be among the topics

discussed at these sessions.

Special Interest sessions and stakeholders workshop

87 special sessions have been

scheduled divided among the three

regions and recurrent sessions.

These sessions will host interventions

of public authorities such as the

European Commission and national

transport administrations; research

institutes and universities; cities

and regions; representatives of the

ITS industry and of the ITS national

associations; and many more.

Topics to be discussed vary from

international cooperation to new ITS

strategies for traffic management;

from deployment to certification;

from energy efficiency to pollution

reduction; from pedestrian protection

to bike sharing; from driver safety

issues to field operational tests

(FOT); from smartphone applications

to multi-modal journey planners; and

much more.

The ITS Vienna 2012 Host has

organised two sessions; the first one

will be dedicated to engineers and

researchers and how the education

system can assure an adequate

professional groundwork. The second

host session will instead focus on the

necessity to build a new vision of

mobility to engage more people in

the field.

Stakeholders have also organised

specific workshops. Specifically,

Orange will focus on the car

manufacturers’ perspective and

mobile connectivity in vehicles (23

October); ERTICO has planned an

urban mobility day on Wednesday

(24 October) and a workshop on

ITS standardisation on Friday (26

October), while the European

Commission assured some space to

present the results of the working

• Optimising provision and use of infrastructure, traffic and travel data and information

• Intelligent infrastructure

• Continuity and interoperability of seamless multimodal services for mobility

• Integrated safety and security for all users

• Connected vehicles, infrastructure and users for cooperative mobility services

• Sustainable, clean and energy efficient mobility

These topics will be organised in 6 groups, each having its own dedicated room to allow delegates to follow the topic during the week.

These topics will be divided into 8 subtopics: policy and strategy; innovation, technologies and standardisation; services and functions; business model and financing; impact assessment and benefits; governance, cooperation and organisation; educations, training and awareness; and users.

Download the Preliminary

Programme.

7

ITS Vienna 2012 Topics and Subtopics

Urban Mobility Day

24 October

Morning session (9:00 to 10:30) -

Focus on the final guidelines for

the deployment of ITS in urban

areas developed by the Urban

ITS Expert Group appointed by

the DG MOVE of the European

Commission.

Afternoon session (16:00 to 17:00)

- Presentations on the next steps

of the ERTICO initiative “ITS for

Urban Mobility”.

REGISTER NOW!

groups on EU-USA cooperation

(24 October) and organised two

sessions on Thursday (25 October)

on the ongoing EU-International

cooperation.

Technical/Scientific and Interactive Sessions

International experts will host over

120 sessions devoted to all this year

topics and subtopics. In addition to

the presentations, selected scientific

papers will be presented during these

sessions.

Interactive sessions represent a

more dynamic way to exchange

information and networking. The six

interactive sessions will be divided

into two stages; during the first

part, 15 participants will give a

short presentation (3 slides) for each

session of 90 minutes. Experts will

then gather in the so-called Market

Square to discuss their projects,

proposals, presentations face to face

with the interested participants.

Ancillary events

A series of ancillary events is

foreseen between 20 and 22

October. Among the events,

several workshops on

European co-funded projects

(Instant Mobility, FOT-Net,

iCar Support and NEARCTIS),

working groups meetings

(FRAME Architecture and

IBEC - International Benefits,

Evaluation, and Costs), special

courses dealing with ITS issues (ITS-

EduNet) and a BarCamp for young

scientists will take place.

On Monday 22 October for the second

time in conjunction with the Congress

in Europe, the Commission (DG

MOVE) has organised the third edition

of their ITS conference “Towards

first ITS specifications”. During the

conference representatives of the

European Institutions will discuss

with the public and private sectors

the results of the ITS Action Plan

with particular regard to legal issues

for ITS deployment and multi-modal

journey planners. The Commission

will also present the state of play

of the implementation of the ITS

Directive.

Furthermore, the European

Commission and GSA will showcase the

Space Expo project, a demo aiming

to promote the European Space

infrastructure (Galileo, EGNOS and

GMES) and providing Congress visitors

concrete information on the benefits,

applications and services that the

infrastructure will bring to citizens.

With a surface of 300 square metres

the Space Base has already been

tested by the European Commission

in different European Cities and will

land in Vienna next October.

Technical visits

Congress participants can also book

their seats for 5 technical visits to the

Austrian National Traffic Management

Centre, Siemens AG Austria, the

OBB Train Monitoring site, the OBB

Traffic Management facility, and to

the Vienna Climatic Wind Tunnel. The

number of participants is limited; if

you wish to take part in one or more

visits please book early through the

Congress website.

Demonstrations

Demonstrations are a core part of

the Congress and one of the most

awaited experiences of the week.

The 30 selected demonstrations for

ITS Vienna 2012 are the outcome of

the two calls in April and November

2011 and have been structured in five

specific thematic areas: Cooperative

mobility; Eco mobility; Navigation;

ITS Network Management; and

Public Transport. European projects

such as Car2Car, emporA, SCUTUM,

COSMO, and RAVE will showcase their

technologies and potentials in real

life use. These projects are examples

of the demonstrations; the final list

with all the demos will be available

for booking onsite.

Exhibition

The Exhibition area will display

the applications of projects and

topics discussed at the Congress

and will demonstrate practical

benefits of ITS in daily life.

Following the areas of interest:

Information collection and

processing; Traveller information;

Logistics; Emergency and incident

management; In-vehicle ITS;

Vehicle infrastructure cooperation;

Vulnerable road user aspects; Traffic

safety and management; Mode

specific ITS; and Payment systems.

For the press and media

Press and media professionals can

attend the Congress free of charge

on the presentation of their press

pass and have free access to the

exhibition area and the Congress

sessions. As every year the Congress

organisers have assured a fully

equipped press room with free Wi-Fi

access devoted solely to journalists

and media.

On Monday morning, press

professionals will have the

opportunity to participate in a press

breakfast organised by the hosts of

the Congress where they will meet

national public authorities and

representatives including Austrian

Transport Minister Doris

Bures. The breakfast

will be followed by

a VIP Demo tour

starting in the

d e m o n s t r a t i o n

lounge of the

exhibition area; the

European Ministers

and Vice-President Siim

Kallas will also be present.

Social activities and special events/networking opportunities

ITS Vienna 2012 will be enriched by

social events and activities. This year

the Opening Ceremony on Monday

afternoon will be entertained by

performances of one the most famous

choirs in the word,

the Vienna Boys’

Choir. The concert

will be followed by a

performance of the

superb Vienna State

Ballet. A Welcome

reception will take

place after the

cultural programme

and afford the

opportunity to meet

other participants

and to get into the

Congress mood.

On Thursday 25

October the general

public is invited to

learn more about

ITS at an Open Day

which will be structured around

presentations from students and best

practise examples from ITS school

projects. Additionally, the best

doctoral and master thesis will be

awarded by Austrian Minister Doris

Bures. A reception dedicated

to women in ITS will

follow; then Ms

Bures and female

profess ionals

will share their

profess ional

e xpe r i ence s

and careers

with the

audience. In

the afternoon, an

important networking

opportunity will be given to

participants in a “speed-dating”

where students will have the chance

to talk with ITS experts.

ERTICO - ITS Europe and its Partners

will welcome Congress attendees

at their stand (D30) on the evening

of 23 October with a cocktail. Join

ERTICO and learn more about ERTICO

Partnership and the opportunities

provided by it.

On Wednesday night, Congress

participants are invited to the

magnificent Hofburg Vienna for the

Gala Dinner, followed by the first ever

ITS Ball. The organisers have also set

up dance lessons for less confident

dancers to be held in the Conservatory

by the Elmayer Dance School.

For the first time in Europe, business

sessions will be organised on

Thursday late afternoon to give the

opportunity to the industry players

to share their views on specifics issue

or their products and services. These

tailored made sessions organised by

one or more companies, are open to

all attendees of the Congress and

will focus on the commercial and

promotion aspect of ITS products and

services.

In addition to the official activities at

the Congress, the Austrian host has set

up several trips to nearby locations

Exhibition Opening times:

23 October 2012 - 9.30 to 17.30

24 October 2012 - 9.30 to 17.30

25 October 2012 - 9.30 to 17.30

26 October 2012 - 9.30 to 14.00

Congress NavigatorAn interesting special feature provided to help

participants to personalise their schedules during

the week is the Congress Navigator, a smartphone

application which delivers information on sessions,

speakers, demonstrations and exhibitors to

delegates and visitors.

This application will serve as a ticket for the public

transport system of Vienna for that week (22-26

October). The ticket is free for congress participants

and covers the entire city area, including all services

by Wiener Linien and ÖBB (the City Airport Train is

not covered). The Congress Navigator is available

for iPhone and Android and in mobileweb version.

The Navigator will be available soon on the Congress

website.

9

Help drive forward the deployment of ITS – and reach the widest possible audience through the use of ITS promotional videos!

Following the success of the 2011 ITS Video Competition held at the European ITS Congress in Lyon, ERTICO – ITS Europe is pleased to invite submissions for this year’s competition!

To submit your entry, simply fill in the form here, specifying if the video is aimed at the general public or the ITS community. Your video will be embedded on the ERTICO, ITS Vienna 2012, Network of National ITS Associations and i-Mobility Network websites.

The 2012 ITS Video Competition is organised by ERTICO – ITS Europe, with the support of ITS America and ITS Asia Pacific, the host organisation of the Vienna ITS Congress and the Network of National ITS Associations, and in conjunction with the i-Mobility Network.

Click here for the terms and conditions.

Click here to see the results of the 2011 ITS Video Competition!

Contact: video.competition@mail.ertico.com

such as Bratislava, Salzburg, and

Prague. You can find out more on

the Pre and Post Congress Tours

session of the programme.

During the whole week of the

Congress, the ERTICO team will

be updating, sharing impressions,

commenting on everything happening

at the Congress.

Follow ERTICO and the ITS Congress

on Twitter and tweet about the

Congress and specific sessions or

demonstrations using the hashtag

#ITSVienna.

Winning videos shown during the closing ceremony of the 2012 ITS Congress!

Finalists will be shown and voted upon at the VIP dinner at the 2012 ITS Congress

All videos will be shown on the ERTICO stand at the 2012 ITS World Congress

All videos will be shown on the ERTICO, ITS America, ITS Asia Pacific, ITS Congress, National Network of ITS Associations, i-Mobility Network and host organisation websites.

The Host and Organisers wish to thank…

» all those involved in the committees for their vital work in organising the Congress and making it the ITS event of 2012 » all those who dedicated time and effort in reviewing and selecting papers and preparing the outstanding 2012 Programme » all the sponsors without whom the 19th ITS World Congress, and especially the social events and networking opportunities, would not have

the same value

ITS & Energy Efficiency: Driving down motoring costs

by Nicolas White

At a recent Conference at the European Commission on the topic of ‘Smart Energy & Sustainable ICT’, Neelie

Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda opened her remarks by stating that:

“Today in Europe, we face enormous challenges. In a time of climate change, the challenge of managing energy

resources. In a time of economic crisis, the challenge of doing things more efficiently.”

During a session on electromobility

at the conference, moderated by

ERTICO – ITS Europe CEO, Hermann

Meyer, it was agreed that one solution

to the challenges of climate change,

resource management and energy

efficiency was wider deployment of

electric vehicles. This deployment

has, it was concluded, the potential

to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

However, it was acknowledged that

while electromobility holds many of

the answers to Europe’s transport

and energy challenges, there are still

significant barriers to widespread

deployment. Not least among these is

cost; electric vehicle deployment will

require changes ‘in and around the

grid’ which will have to be paid for

through new business models tailored

to a new age of electromobility.

As a result, electromobility is not

yet a panacea. If the EU is to reduce

its dependence on fossil fuels, and

thereby in its carbon emissions there

needs to be a strong policy focus on

improving efficiency of the tools we

already have.

Private vehicles represent around 12%

of the EU’s total carbon emissions

with transport as a whole accounting

for 25% of Europe’s greenhouse gas

emissions. Indeed, between 1990

and 2009, CO2 emissions from road

traffic rose by 27% in the EU. In

2009, the EU adopted binding limits

on CO2 emissions from private cars -

the regulation set the “average CO2

emissions for new passenger cars at

130 g CO2/km”. The 2009 legislation

represents a 19% reduction from 2006

levels of emissions which averaged

over 160g CO2 per kilometre. In

addition, the 130g limit came with

a further commitment to reducing

average emissions to 95g CO2 per

kilometre from 2020 onwards.

Vehicle emission regulations, aside

from helping to stop the advance of

climate change, mean one crucial

thing to consumers: fuel economy.

The more efficient the vehicle is, the

less they will have to spend on petrol.

In our current times of rocketing fuel

prices and economic uncertainty, this

is indeed a welcome break for Europe’s

increasingly squeezed consumer.

However, to the average person, 130g

or 95g don’t mean a great deal. Are

those numbers less than their current

car? Do they represent significant

savings? We’ve all seen the emissions

11

numbers on car adverts but few people

can truly make sense of the number.

Enter Greenpeace, something of the

vehicle industry’s nemesis, forever

protesting and sometimes disrupting

industry gatherings. The NGO’s EU-

Unit commissioned an independent

study to calculate what emission

standards for passenger cars mean

for motorists.

What it found might not come as a

huge surprise. The tighter emissions

standards are for vehicles, the lower

the cost of running them.

However, the study has put

concrete numbers on the savings

for what may amount to the first

time.

Greenpeace’s study shows that,

if implemented at current levels

(95g CO2 per kilometre by 2020)

the cost of driving for European

consumers will plummet.

Current annual fuel costs range

from between €2143 in Sweden

(Europe’s most expensive) to €1235

in Luxembourg (Europe’s cheapest).

With tighter emissions regulations

however, those costs will fall to

€1551 in Sweden in 2020 and €962 in

Luxembourg.

Such savings will, no doubt, be

welcomed by drivers across the

continent. Indeed, quantifying the

savings drivers stand to make thanks

to stricter emissions standards should

certainly prove a useful tool in

winning the hearts and minds of often

sceptical European citizens.

Greenpeace go further in their study,

not content to limit themselves to the

current expected scope of emissions

standards, they call for steps to limit

vehicle emissions to 60g CO2 per

kilometre, something they say will

reduce the fuel costs associated with

driving even further.

While discussion on how to achieve

EU emissions targets rages on, it is

important to note that these rules

only apply to newly manufactured

vehicles. What then, is to be done

about the current vehicles on

Europe’s roads? Further, even with

more efficient vehicles, much of the

problem with passenger car emissions

tends to sit behind the steering

wheel.

Fuel efficiency is only one side of the

coin. It is estimated that through the

adoption of more environmentally

friendly driving practices, CO2

emissions (and fuel consumption)

from road transport could be reduced

Today in Europe, we face enormous challenges. In a time of climate change, the challenge of managing energy resources. In a time of economic crisis, the challenge of doing things more efficiently

by up to 20%. That is, at least, what

the ecoDriver project is aiming for.

The project notes that ”drivers

are often not aware they have a

major influence on their car’s fuel

consumption, potentially leading to

significant unnecessary emissions”.

Therefore, the project hopes to

”optimise driver” behaviour in order

to maximise energy efficiency and

improve traffic flows.

The project intends to achieve this

through a “dedicated multimodal

human machine interface” that will

use a combination of visual, acoustic

and haptic messages. Drivers will be

able to input their destination before

leaving and choose a fuel saving

route and, while driving, receive eco-

driving recommendations that match

their driving style and vehicle type.

Further, after trips, the eco-driving

system will compile the trip data and

make further recommendations that

will help to “continuously encourage

drivers to improve their behaviour”.

More specifically, ecoDriver concerns

itself with technologies such as

suggesting the best speed given the

current driving conditions, advising a

driver to slow down as they approach

a hill for example, or making the

accelerator pedal become stiffer

when accelerating away from a red

light, encouraging “softer and more

ecological acceleration”.

Changing driver behaviour, then, could

net a significant reduction in vehicle

emissions as well as a significant drop

in fuel consumption. In addition to

changing driving habits, Intelligent

Transport Systems (ITS) have much

to offer in the realm of emissions

reduction and fuel economy.

Indeed, the results of the euroFOT

project, the first large scale European

Field Operational Tests on active

safety systems, demonstrate that

even systems designed to increase

driver safety can have a real impact

on fuel consumption. Adaptive cruise

control has been shown to lead to a

reduction in fuel consumption of up

to 7%.

Outside of the vehicle, ITS can still

have an impact on fuel consumption

and emissions. Indeed, ICT

technologies are expected to reduce

CO2 emissions by 20-25%. Cooperative

systems such as those developed in

the CVIS project and tested in the

FREILOT project will have a huge

impact on traffic management in

urban areas. Reducing congestion

will cut journey times and allow for

cleaner, greener urban driving.

Much is made of the fuel efficiency

of new car engines. Indeed, it is an

important matter. However, Neelie

Kroes, speaking earlier this month,

explained that ‘the convergence

of formerly distinct sectors is an

irreversible trend”. This speaks to

the importance of looking at traffic

efficiency as a whole. Leaving aside

electromobility and increased use

of multimodal transport, two huge

factors in greening Europe’s transport

landscape, cooperative systems,

driver education and even adaptive

safety systems will play a role in

reducing emissions from passenger

vehicles on Europe’s roads. This

will help the EU meet its emissions

targets, help stop the advance of

climate change and save consumers

money.

ERTICO Partnership events

20 June 20122012 ERTICO General Assembly Meeting - Brussels, Belgium

21 June 2012 ERTICO Forum “Public-Private Partnership success stories for ITS deployment” - Brussels, Belgium

For further information, please contact us:

Avenue Louise 326B-1050 Brussels Belgium +32 (0)2 400 07 00 +32 (0)2 400 07 01pr@mail.ertico.com

www.ertico.com

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