Another confirmation for Safety21.

Already counted among the Champions of Growth in Italy and included in Inc’s European ranking, our company has entered the prestigious “FT1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies“, the Financial Times‘ annual ranking that selects the one thousand European companies with the greatest economic growth.

Between 2013 and 2016, the period considered in the British business daily’s study, Safety21 recorded growth of 198% and an average percentage growth rate (CAGR) of 43.9%. Elements that allowed us to enter the ranking in 778th place.

“We are proud to be ranked as one of the most promising technology companies in Europe by the Financial Times,” commented Safety21 CEO Gianluca Longo. “Dealing with road safety is a duty and a responsibility, but it is certainly not an easy mission. I share this achievement with all those who work with us. It is the product of an investment plan involving people, services and innovative technologies that, in a few short years, has turned us into a respected and competitive company, both nationally and internationally. It is also confirmation of the solidity of our business model, which enables us to offer measurable support in terms of short-term results to all stakeholders, public authorities, and police forces who are working in Italy and around the world to raise road safety standards”.

Safety21 is growing and Inc. Magazine has also noticed this, including our company in its annual ranking of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in Europe.

The 2018 Inc. 5,000 Europe ranking is based on turnover growth over the previous three years. Safety21 is listed in 3,217 place with a 2016 turnover of €11.5 million and growth of 152.63%.

This result adds to those recently achieved by Safety21, already included amongst the 2018 Growth Champions, the list of the 300 Italian companies with the highest growth rate that is drawn up by the German Institute for Quality and Finance.

These are important milestones that underline the entrepreneurial success of our company. Founded in 2011, today we represent a group of market-leading companies, capable of meeting the highest technological and service standards for road safety throughout the country by means of advanced solutions.

Lombardy holds a dubious record: its road accident density is practically double that of the country as a whole.

This is what emerged from a survey conducted by the Milan Automobile Club and ISTAT on road accident data from 2010 to 2016, which was recently revealed by the Milan branch of the Confcommercio trade association. 

Accident density on Lombardy’s roads reached 1.35 accidents per km compared with an Italian average of 0.67 accidents per km. More specifically, 32,785 accidents were recorded in Lombardy in 2016, causing 434 deaths and over 45,000 injuries; 78.9% occurred in cities and urban contexts (234 deaths and 34,416 injuries

). Motorists and motorcyclists were the most affected: over 2,300 people died on the road during the period under review, followed by pedestrians and cyclists, with almost one thousand deaths. According to the study, the most dangerous roads were the ring roads east and west of Milan, the Lake Como and Giovi roads, the Via Emilia, and the route to Malpensa airport.

This is supported by statistics and confirmed by a number of measures, not least the circular ‘prevention and countermeasure strategies for containing the problem’ issued by the Chief of Police in his capacity as Director-General of Public Safety. The traffic safety situation on Italy’s roads is critical and requires attention – and action – because, while the number of accidents has fallen, the number of fatalities has risen over the last year, both on local roads and on motorways.

According to the annual report released by the State Police and Carabinieri (as at 20 December 2017), while 2017 recorded a slight decrease in the overall number of accidents (72,015, or 2.5% less than in 2016) and in the number of people injured (39. 178, or -0.6%), it also recorded an increase in accidents with fatal consequences, with an increase in claims (1,519) + 0.8% (12 more) and victims – (1,656) + 2.2% (36 more fatalities). This trend is confirmed by ISTAT (Italian National Institute of Statistics) data.

In the first half of 2017, preliminary estimates from the Italian National Institute of Statistics confirm a reversal of the trend as regards fatalities, which are rising again, with increases of between 6.7 and 8.2%. This upward trend further distances us from the European objective of reducing the number of road deaths by 50% by 2020 and is a cause for great concern.

In this context, the active promotion of a road safety culture and the monitoring and optimisation of resources in the field are some of the feasible solutions to curb the problem. Companies such as Safety21, which work alongside Public and Police Authorities to convert investments in safety into positive results on the roads for the benefit of citizens, cannot but feel the urgent need for action.

According to preliminary data from the European Commission, there were 25,500 road fatalities in Europe in 2016, 600 fewer than the previous year and an overall drop of 19%, over the past six years. A positive trend – also highlighted in the latest DEKRA road safety report – but not enough to achieve the European objectives of halving the number of victims by 2020 (-50%). Especially in light of forecast data issued by individual states suggesting a new negative trend reversal for 2017.

However, the 2016 European picture shows interesting assessments and a few firsts. With the usual variations between member states, Europe’s roads are the safest in the world and in 2016 Sweden had the lowest number of fatal accidents per million inhabitants, followed by the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Germany, and Ireland. Italy ranked 15th in this classification, with Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, and Poland at the bottom. In addition, 2016 was the second year in which the number of road fatalities per million inhabitants did not exceed 100 in any of the Member States and in which half of the Member States had their best road safety performance since 1965.

Regarding the number of victims, unfortunately the European statistics also reflect familiar patterns common to all countries: the greatest number of casualties throughout Europe is amongst car passengers (46%), while 21% of all road accidents involve pedestrians, a percentage which, in line with national figures, has been slowly falling in relation to other vulnerable road users. 8% of all road accident victims in the EU are cyclists. Motorcyclists accounted for 14% of the victims in 2016.

Source: DEKRA Report

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