On 7 and 8 June, Palazzo delle Stelline in Milan hosts “Innovazione Direzione Nord, l’innovazione che serve” (Innovation Heading North, the innovation you need): two days of topical meetings involving institutions, companies and associations focusing on the best innovations that transform everyday life, from medical technologies to robotics and new forms of living and moving around in an increasingly smart city.

On Friday, 8 June at 10.30 am, the debate on mobility, present and future, will involve Safety21 with a presentation by Paolo Tommasini, Business Development Manager (second session – topical meeting: “New Forms of Living and Mobility” – introduced by: Arianna Censi, Deputy Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Milan)

Also taking part in the meeting, moderated by journalist Roberto Poletti, will be Claudia Terzi, Lombardy Region Councillor for Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility, and Andrea Gibelli – FNM (Milan Rail Company) Chairman.

As part of its ongoing commitment to improving its services, Safety21 also achieved ISO 14001 certification this year by adopting the appropriate integrated environmental policy tools aimed at preserving the ecosystem and promoting constant improvements for its protection.

What are the main benefits of ISO 14001 certification?

Controlling and reducing negative impacts on the environment: improving the management of operations and services provided by Safety21.

Saving energy and raw materials: identifying possible reductions in terms of energy and raw materials.

Poor visibility during the day and at night is one of the main causes of accidents on pedestrian crossings. This is a problem that affects Italy, but also the whole of Europe because, even now, far too large a proportion (30%) of accidents occur on zebra crossings.

By devising Safe Pedestrian 2.0, Safety21 has introduced a concrete response to the crisis, exploiting Cloud and IoT technology and an advanced lighting and filming system, which looks to the present and future of cities, using a smart approach. The system consists of:

4 high-brightness LED beacons triggered by 4 photocells when a pedestrian is on the pavement

2 presignals placed 70 metres before the crossing to alert motorists of the presence of a pedestrian, enabling them to slow down and stop in time.

A total of 6 signal light pulses that automatically work in advance when triggered by human presence, to increase the visibility of the pedestrian crossing, while a fisheye camera with 360° and quad view monitors the crossing in real time and allows for retrieval of recordings in the event of an accident. A truly Smart City will always give priority to protecting the health and safety of its citizens.

Safety21‘s social commitment starts with the promotion of a road safety culture, a mission it shares with educators, authorities, and police forces. Through the “Ti Voglio Bene” (I Love You) project, developed in collaboration with Rome’s La Sapienza University, the company has built a special relationship with young people, towards whom it directs most of its education and awareness initiatives.

Because “Safety21 wants to make a major contribution to society, with young people and through young people”, conveying positive messages and making young people more aware of their own limits.

Reflecting on the value of the company’s ethical commitment is its promoter, Domenico Mazzilli, Safety21’s Chairman, who during his career served as National Director of the Traffic Police Service and conceived and promoted road safety and legality projects, such as “Il Pullman Azzurro” (The Blue Coach), not only in Italy but also exported abroad.

In line with its mission and social commitment, Safety21 has joined the European Road Safety Charter.

Created in 2004, the Charter, led by the European Commission, is the largest civil society platform on road safety. Among its goals, it aims to facilitate the acquisition and sharing of knowledge on road safety issues and to facilitate an effective dialogue for sharing road safety expertise and practices at every level of governance in the European Union.

More than 3,400 public and private bodies have committed themselves to the Charter by carrying out operations that have strengthened road safety culture throughout Europe and contributed to the creation of preventive measures and solutions.

Safety21, which has always been on the front line in promoting road safety and respect for traffic regulations, is also making its contribution by providing daily support to Public Authorities in improving safety standards in the area, investing in innovative technologies, such as Safe Pedestrian 2.0 and the educational project “TI Voglio Bene” (I Love You), an activity created with the specific aim of educating young people in the risks involved in driving and which has already reached out to secondary school pupils in several Italian cities.

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