By Roberto Sgalla, Former Central Director of Specialty STATE POLICE
Road security represents a major issue for all European Countries. This ever present topic is a priority for each member State at local, regional and national level. The European Union has the ambitious goal of halving the number of road fatalities by 2030. In this sense, our commitment should be oriented towards the increase of quantitative and qualitative prevention activities, in order to be more effective in limiting the number of major accidents and to develop a sense of awareness towards a safer driving style. Even today, the risk connected to specific, dangerous behaviour is constantly underestimated. Reportable details include distracted driving – in particular as regards to smartphone and mobile-, high speed, not giving way to other vehicles, drink and drugs driving. Open data and the so-called “artificial intelligence” technologies represent a valuable help to prevent and fight unsafe behaviours, as well as to provide accurate information about driving style. Ultimate on board technology plays a key role in this process, from Black Box to geolocation devices. Such tools are able to provide any kind of information on the vehicle, driving style, fuel consumption as well as those “external” factors that can affect drivers’ behaviour. Tools that have been proven to be successful in case of accident, thanks to the capability of calling medical aid. In emergency surgery, the so-called “golden hour” refers to the lapse of time – froma few minutes to several hours – in which a prompt medical treatment can avoid a patient’s death in case of major injury caused by a serious accident. It is known that chances of surviving a crash are increased by adequate treatment. This is why “intelligent” cars, equipped with on board telematic devices that are able to connect to emergency medical units in case of accident, facilitate the work of medical and healthcare operators.