Deadline Date: October 08, 2026
The European Commission is seeking applications for a research and innovation initiative aimed at improving rural road safety, strengthening enforcement and prevention strategies, and enhancing climate resilience through advanced assessment methodologies and digital tools in the European Union.
Road Safety and Resilience of Rural Areas Research and Innovation Programme (European Union) aims to strengthen the safety and resilience of rural road networks by advancing assessment methodologies, behavioural interventions, enforcement strategies, and climate-risk preparedness in line with the EU’s Vision Zero ambition.
The program supports implementation of the network-wide road safety assessment (NWRSA) methodology for secondary rural roads, expansion of NWRSA to all rural roads using low-cost and transparent approaches, identification of data gaps and methods to enhance crash causation understanding, innovative enforcement strategies and incentive mechanisms, measures to raise risk awareness and improve road user behaviour, prevention strategies to reduce fatalities and serious injuries with implementation guidelines for relevant stakeholders such as regional authorities, police, healthcare professionals and national governments, consideration of health-related risk factors including ageing and disabilities to ensure inclusive mobility, and development of a GIS-based application to map and assess the impact of extreme weather events and natural disasters such as floods, fires, storms and heavy snowfall on road safety and infrastructure resilience.
The initiative addresses the high proportion of road fatalities occurring in rural areas and focuses on improving safety assessment beyond urban and motorway networks by strengthening proactive, network-wide approaches such as the NWRSA. It supports combining crash-based evidence with in-built road safety assessments to identify risks that may not appear in traditional hotspot analyses but still contribute to serious crashes in rural environments.
A key component of the programme is the development of prevention strategies aimed at reducing fatalities and serious injuries through better understanding of risky behaviour and targeted interventions. These strategies include the design of enforcement approaches that integrate traditional policing with innovative technologies, alongside awareness-raising and behavioural nudging measures. The programme also considers the role of repeat offenders and emerging impairment risks, including drug-related driving, in shaping effective enforcement responses.
The initiative further promotes inclusive and equitable mobility by addressing risks associated with ageing populations, disabilities, and other health-related limitations that affect driving safety in rural areas. It encourages the development of solutions that maintain independence and mobility while reducing crash risk for vulnerable groups.
In addition, the programme strengthens resilience to climate-related disruptions by supporting tools and GIS-based applications that help local and regional authorities map and respond to hazards such as floods, storms, fires, and heavy snowfall. This integrated approach ensures that both safety and operational continuity of rural road networks are improved under extreme conditions.
The total funding available for this programme is €12,000,000, with individual projects receiving around €6,000,000 in support.
For more information, visit EC.
