Austria, Hungary, Slovenia set up middle Europe driverless region

The transport ministers of Austria, Hungary and Slovenia have signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of autonomous vehicles and e-mobility. The agreement advocates creating an Austrian-Hungarian-Slovenian driverless region to help develop and understand the latest mobility technologies and vehicles, according to a report in the Austrian newspaper Oberösterreichische Nachrichten. A test-track for autonomous vehicles stretching from Graz, Austria, to Zalaegerszeg in Hungary, via Maribor, Sl
April 3, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The transport ministers of Austria, Hungary and Slovenia have signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of autonomous vehicles and e-mobility.


The agreement advocates creating an Austrian-Hungarian-Slovenian driverless region to help develop and understand the latest mobility technologies and vehicles, according to a report in the Austrian newspaper Oberösterreichische Nachrichten.

A test-track for autonomous vehicles stretching from Graz, Austria, to Zalaegerszeg in Hungary, via Maribor, Slovenia, may be constructed, the report noted.

The signing ceremony was also attended by European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, the Slovenian member of the EU Commission.

Driverless cars and their impact on road design is being studied by the Vienna-based 2682 Austrian Institute of Technology through its interdisciplinary via-AUTONOM programme. Under scrutiny are new forms and technologies of road infrastructure that would facilitate safe and efficient automated road transport. It is studying how road infrastructure can optimise automated driving functions such as lane planning, proactive driving behaviour, pre-crash support and an “enhanced electronic horizon”.

In the world of big data, the institute if looking at which infrastructure and vehicle data are relevant to support autonomous driving, and how can they be combined. The project aims to investigate road infrastructure measures that have the highest effectiveness for the transition period with automated vehicles and non-automated road users.

Another objective is to identify where those measures must be implemented. To this end, via-AUTONOM develops a risk model to identify critical spots and road sections - intersections, roadwork zones and curves with limited sight distance – that may hold back increased use of automated vehicles.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Volvo CE’s Carl Slotte explains the division’s current line-up
    October 11, 2017
    Next year Volvo CE will be testing electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles in a quarry. Carl Slotte, head of sales for EMEA, says no company by itself will win market share. David Arminas reports from Germany The driver of the charter bus stood outside the hotel in Trier, Germany, and waved at a passing local city bus. “I know the driver,” he told one of the assembled journalists waiting for the group’s ride to the nearby Volvo CE plant. “He is retired but they brought him back because young people th
    Read More
  • Data sharing for sustainable urban mobility around the globe
    July 27, 2020
    The International Road Federation (Geneva) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD) are co-leading a new work stream on data sharing within the Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All) initiative led by the World Bank. This new piece of work looks specifically at addressing the issue of policy-making for enabling data sharing.
    Read More
  • Winner Profile: iCITE Data Aggregator by Eberle Design Inc for traffic management
    May 21, 2019
    There is a global need for more intelligent traffic management and enhanced road safety, fuelled by data collection and the useful interpretation of that data into real-time information that provides for effective action by traffic engineers. The prevailing transportation paradigm, one-person-one-vehicle, is forcing the multimodal traffic infrastructure to its limits. With continuous congestion, longer commute times, and increased accidents, agencies are tasked with finding solutions without escalating thei
    Read More
  • Corridor for prosperity: The 5G Road
    June 14, 2019
    The next generation of highways will be a matrix of smart, intelligent and dynamic technologies that lower maintenance costs and ensure user safety. But challenges lie ahead, as Geoff Hadwick discovered in Dubrovnik The fifth-generation road is about to provide the world’s highway authorities with a big leap forward. This “forever-open”, self-healing road will integrate innovation into infrastructure, vehicles and entire intelligent transport systems, says Adewole Adesiyun, deputy secretary general of
    Read More

Highlighted Content