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The ” Child Safety Report “, recently published by the European Transport Safety Council, estimates that over 8,000 children under the age of 14 have been victims of road accidents in Europe in the last 10 years: 50% in cars, 33% as pedestrians, and 13% as cyclists. The safest roads in the EU for children are in Norway, while Italy is amongst the top eight countries with the lowest child mortality rate, although in 2016 there were 49 under-14 fatalities on the roads.

The ETSC, of which the Italian Automobile Club is a member, counts Italy amongst the countries most committed to raising road safety standards, thanks to the good results achieved by the ‘Vision Zero’ programme, which includes the adoption of specific measures for children, such as improving visibility on the roads they use to get to school and back home, better use of seat belts, and encouraging adults to take more responsibility.

However, at a time when the European Union is developing its road safety strategy for the next decade, what solutions would enable us to do more to safeguard the lives of children on the road?

The ETSC believes it is essential to introduce measures to moderate speed in general and near schools in particular, and to promote the standard installation of smart technologies such as ISA (Intelligent Speed Assistant) or AEB (Automated Emergency Braking) in new-generation cars, which are as important for the safety of children as seatbelts and car seats. In this regard, the World Health Organisation states that the correct use of child booster seats guarantees an 80% chance of saving a life. Road safety always starts with a conscious choice.

Source: ANSA (Italian news agency),

A new addition to the Safety21 family. The Group has finalised the acquisition of the company branch, ServiceNet Sas, creating ServiceNet21 Srl.

The acquisition represents an important step forward in Safety21’s business model and its strategy to reach the whole of Italy. ServiceNet21 will be developing the market in northern Italy, with particular focus on the regions of Liguria, Piedmont and Tuscany, as well as providing continuity of service to the ten or so municipalities and provincial clients where around 20 detection devices are installed.

“This acquisition is part of Safety21’s progression from pioneer to market leader,” CEO Gianluca Longo commented. “Today, we represent a group of companies able to meet the highest standards of service using advanced technological solutions to enable Public Authorities to effectively promote road safety prevention and monitoring policies. For this reason, our continuous investment in innovation and the extension of our business, with the addition of new partners and resources, represents our company’s present and future-oriented expansion.

With an average growth of +44%, Safety21 is one of the 2018 Growth Champions, the list of the 300 Italy-based companies that recorded a high turnover growth rate in the period 2013-2016. Safety21 is placed second in the “Platinum” category for “companies with an average annual turnover growth of more than 30%” and is the only Public Authority service company to be included in the list.

Developed and presented by the German Institute for Quality and Finance together with La Repubblica – Affari & Finanza, the study considered a sample of 10,000 high-growth companies. Objective: to identify dynamic companies that are giving new impetus to the Italian economy through innovative ideas and business models capable of stimulating the sector they belong to.

 “We are proud of this result,” remarked Safety21 CEO Gianluca Longo, “which highlights the growth of our company and recognises the strength of our innovative business model. It is a model that combines two key advantages, high cloud technology and zero investment for the public sector, and aims to produce an improvement in road safety standards.

This is a sector in which private companies can increasingly make a difference towards achieving urgent common goals, such as reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities”.

Safety21 operates throughout the country offering advanced solutions and innovative outsourcing services.

The technologically advanced systems on offer integrate digital solutions and IoT applications, enabling efficient organisation of surveillance across the region.

Amongst the many advantages these tools bring are remote management and monitoring, allowing for a more efficient use of the Authority’s resources.

Find out more in this interview with Giulia Maglione, Safety Operations Director

Designed to effectively monitor pedestrian crossings without traffic lights, Safety21‘s Safe Pedestrian 2.0 is a highly innovative system designed to ensure public safety by supporting the digital transformation of cities.

What are the most innovative aspects of this platform?

We asked Andrea Casiraghi, Safety21’s Chief Technology Officer.

There are four main technological advantages to the system:

1. Certified Cloud Platform ‘As a Service’ delivery
2. System accessibility from any browser or device
3. Service compliance with all applicable data protection and data retention regulations
4. High levels of service

A press conference at Villa Gallia to illustrate the new Safe Pedestrian 2.0 project in detail: this is how, on 26th September, the Province of Como officially launched the two installations of our high-tech safety system for pedestrian crossings, which had recently become active on the former SS 583 “Lariana” road in the Municipality of Torno and along the SP 40 “Arosio – Canzo” road in the Municipality of Arosio. Two points considered critical.

The project to protect pedestrians – which is part of the initiatives already underway to make the province of Como safer – allows us to respond concretely to the need for safety that has long been recognised by the two municipal authorities.

There have been too many accidents in the two areas, including at pedestrian crossings.

With its innovative technology, the Safe Pedestrian 2.0 system will now allow safer crossings in Torno and Arosio, both by day and by night, thanks to the 360 degree camera that enables real-time monitoring of the pedestrian crossing and the four photocells that trigger four high-brightness LED flashing beacons and external signalling devices for motorists when a pedestrian is present.

According to the most recent regional data, there were 1,555 road accidents involving personal injury in the province of Como in 2016 (source: ISTAT), causing a total of 15 deaths and 2,204 injuries.

This figure is an improvement on the previous 2015 survey, yet pedestrians were once again among the most vulnerable road users with 5 deaths and 211 injuries.

In 2016 there were 175,791 road accidents involving personal injury in Italy, resulting in 3,283 deaths and 249,175 injuries. Among the fatalities, there was a net increase for cyclists (275, +9.6%) and moped riders (116, +10.5%), while there was a decrease for motorcyclists (657, -15.0%) and pedestrians (570, -5.3%).

This is the overall picture of road accidents in our country that emerged from the latest ISTAT report for 2016.

A remarkable year in which the number of deaths fell compared to 2015 (-4.2%), while accidents and injuries, especially serious ones, increased for the first time since 2001.

The decrease in the number of fatalities in Italy – ISTAT points out – is mainly due to the drop recorded on motorways (including ring roads and motorway junctions) and non-urban roads (274 and 1,546 deaths; -10.2 and -4.6% on the previous year). There was a smaller drop in the number of deaths on urban roads (1,463 deaths; -2.6%); the drop in the number of deaths in large towns was more substantial: 6.5%.

Some of the incorrect behaviours that cause accidents are the same ones that Safety21 seeks to prevent with its monitoring and training projects: driver distraction, failure to respect right of way and excessive speed are the most frequent causes, while speeding, failure to use safety devices and the use of mobile phones while driving are the most frequently penalised traffic offences.

A new addition to Safety21. HAT Sicaf, an investment fund belonging to the HAT Orizzonte Group, acquired a 30% stake for approximately €6 million, mainly through a capital increase.

HAT Sicaf is an investment fund that specialises in private equity transactions. It is promoted and controlled by managing partners Nino Attanasio and Ignazio Castiglioni and is owned by leading Italian entrepreneurs as well as by Fondo Italiano d’Investimento (Italian Investment Fund), the latter controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and other leading Italian banks.

Representing HAT Sicaf, Nino Attanasio and Ignazio Castiglioni, respectively Chairman and CEO of the HAT Orizzonte Group, thus joined the Safety21 Board of Directors in July 2016.

“We are very pleased”, commented Ignazio Castiglioni, “to announce our investment in Safety21, an outstanding and innovative Italian technology company that plays an important role in road safety and has a highly scalable business”.

HAT, which has the objective of accelerating the development of the companies in which it invests, will support Safety21’s management in its growth through the consolidation of its market position.

During the last Exhibition of Justice in Rome, Safety21 sponsored a conference entitled “Ti voglio bene: La sicurezza stradale cresce con noi” (I love you: Road safety grows with us): a forum for young people and institutions, to promote a culture of legality on the road, reflect together on European and Italian accident figures, and focus on the objectives needed to reduce accidents.

Moderated by Rai Isoradio journalist Elena Carbonari, and introduced by Safety21 CEO Gianluca Longo, the conference focused on directly involving the students in the audience and saw the participation of the Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Riccardo Nencini, the Undersecretary for Justice, Cosimo Ferri, Giuseppe Bisogno, Director of the State Police Traffic Unit and Antonello Salzano for the Italian Automobile Club.

The participants discussed technology, safety statistics, the institutions’ commitment to increasing road safety, and the topic of vehicular homicide, which included the moving testimony of Stefano Guarnieri, President of the Lorenzo Guarnieri Onlus Association and father of Lorenzo, a young road accident victim.

Check out the highlights of the forum.

Those of us who support the values of good road sense now have a new ally by our side. Twenty-six years after the launch of the Associazione Sostenitori ed Amici della Polizia Stradale (Association of Supporters and Friends of the Traffic Police), the ASAPS Foundation was formed: an ethical and social alliance for road and urban safety, of which Safety21, which has always supported ASAPS, is proud to be a founding member.

The Foundation’s values and objectives are based on the activities carried out by the Association, chaired and founded in 1991 by Giordano Biserni, and it was set up with the aim of bringing together under one roof the numerous requests of all those – citizens, associations and businesses, police forces, rescue operators – who are involved in safeguarding urban and road safety.

Different parties, one awareness: levels of safety also correspond to an institution’s ability to take charge of the risks to which the public are exposed and provide solutions to deal with them.

The cornerstones of the Foundation’s programme will be information, vocational training, advice, and research.

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