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

  • Belt & Road: IRF to lead the Green & Sustainable Transport Committee
    September 4, 2019
    IRF (Geneva) was pleased to support again this year the World Transport Convention (WTC) organised by China Highway & Transportation Society (CHTS) – an esteemed member of IRF - in Beijing on 13th-16th June 2019. WTC offered the background for hosting the plenary session of The Belt & Road Transport Alliance (BRITA) during which IRF has signed agreement to lead the Green & Sustainable Development Committee. The World Transport Convention (WTC) - at its third successful edition this year - is becoming
    Read More
  • WJ’s Guardian stud machine to be launched in Europe
    February 23, 2018
    Stud placement just got a lot safer for road operatives in continental Europe thanks to a collaboration between the UK’s WJ Group and Belgium’s ACB. UK-based WJ Group and ACB formed their joint venture company, ACBWJ around 2006 to share product knowledge, marketing and research into thermoplastics and road markings. ACBWJ will officially launch WJ’s Guardian stud placement vehicle into the European market at the Intertraffic exhibition in Amsterdam from March 20-23.
    Read More
  • Creating the conditions for successful deployment of ITS in Iran
    April 6, 2017
    IRF Geneva was one of the supporting partners of the second Iran ITS Congress held in Tehran on 7th – 8th February, 2017. The congress included several high-level speakers Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi, Iranian minister of Roads & Urban Development; Dawoud Keshavarzian, Iranian deputy minister of Roads & Urban Development & president of RMTO; Taghi Mehri, police chief, Traffic Police; Shahram Adamnejad, executive board member & deputy of planning, RMTO; and Nayereh Pirouzbakht, president, Iran National Standards Org
    Read More
  • Europe’s road safety targets at risk
    June 15, 2015
    The EU’s targets for road safety are at risk due to increased fatalities in France, Germany and UK. This new analysis has been published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). According to the ETSC data, 2014 showed the lowest annual reduction in EU road deaths since 2001. In all 25,845 people were killed in road crashes in the 28 nations of the EU during 2014. This represented a decrease of just 0.6% compared to 2013. EU member states now need to cut deaths by almost 8% each year until 2020 to me
    Read More

Highlighted Content