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

  • Young motorcycle riders at most risk in Europe
    January 20, 2017
    Young powered two wheelers are most at risk of crashing. That is the key finding of a recent report into powered two wheeler crashes in Europe. The analysis of 9,186 crashes where a motorcyclist was severely injured, shows that specifically young, male riders face a significant risk to become a road traffic victim. The European Commission recently published the ‘Study on serious road traffic injuries in the EU’ to collate data that could in the future prevent serious road traffic injuries. The aim was to
    Read More
  • Advanced driving simulator developed by TRL
    December 13, 2018
    In the UK, TRL is introducing a sophisticated driving simulator that will help with developing transport infrastructure as well as research into driving. This advanced system is intended to assist in driving future transport policy, customer safety and road network performance The new simulator can be used for behavioural research into driving and can be used as a validation tool. The complete simulator package features three main systems as it consists of the new full-size DigiCar, a portable version (M
    Read More
  • EU road fatalities dip 1% for 2018 but 2020 target slips away
    April 15, 2019
    The number of fatalities on European Union roads dipped by 1% last year, according to preliminary figures published today by the European Commission. In 2018, there were around 25,100 road accident fatalities within the 28 EU member countries. This is a decrease of 21% compared to 2010. With an average of 49 road deaths per one million inhabitants, this confirms that European roads are by far the safest in the world, noted the Commission. But there is remains doubt that the EU target of halving the nu
    Read More
  • Better maintenance is on the Horizon for UK’s Warrington Council
    May 15, 2018
    Good, readable analysis of road surfaces to ensure sufficient maintenance funding is an essential part of asset management. The technical side of ensuring a good road surface is integral to maintaining safe, superior highway infrastructure. But securing sufficient government funding for such work – repairs and new-build – based on the current road surface is also essential. To evaluate road conditions and structure for such a business case, one UK local council turned to software provider Yotta.
    Read More

Highlighted Content