In the context of a rapidly changing EU urban mobility, in parallel with a concerning number of road fatalities, the European Commission (EC) has set an ambitious goal; achieve close-to-zero deaths in European roads by 2050, the so-called 'Vision Zero'. Although the EU is already a world leader in reducing road traffic deaths and serious injuries for car drivers and passengers, 70% of road fatalities are still affecting Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), namely those outside the car, such as pedestrians and two-wheelers.

SOTERIA aims to accelerate the attainment of the Vision Zero EU goal for vulnerable road users, through a holistic framework of innovative models, tools and services that enable data driven urban safety intelligence, facilitate safe travelling of VRUs and foster the safe integration of micro-mobility services in complex environments. At the operational level SOTERIA uncovers unexplored behavioural characteristics of VRUs and engages Living Lab communities in social innovation activities for the co-creation of urban safety solutions and infrastructure designs. Simulation models and explainable AI driven analytics are developed for supporting policy decisions and informing interconnected services that support VRUs in safe and clean travelling. The approach is validated in four thematic demonstrations (Living Labs) addressing different types of VRUs, including ageing and young population groups as well as two-wheeler riders.

Due to the above, the emergence of complex environments where unknown interactions between different types of VRUs and between VRUs and motorised vehicles is imminent. Clear understanding of user behaviours and vehicle interactions in these emerging conditions, fair and optimised use of public spaces as well as age friendly urban safety action plans and assessments, capitalising on the benefits that technological innovations and the plethora of available data can offer in advanced accident analysis can be considered as cornerstones towards achieving EU’s ‘Vision Zero’ that entails zero fatalities in road transport by 2050.