STARS
A European project on speed by the European Transport Safety Council.
STARS is an 18 month project which aims at mobilising transport research into speed management to demonstrate how excessive and inappropriate speed can be reduced through existing measures. The main objective of STARS is to run concrete actions that can reduce speed through the work of students.
STARS relies on the work of committed young university students who will be encouraged to run a local speed management action to reduce speeding through infrastructure projects or communication projects in road transport with the support of ETSC and its partners.
The STARS project is divided into three main parts:
First ESTC gives a series of lectures on speed and its consequences in several universities across Europe, mainly technical universities, such as civil engineering faculties, but also Communication Schools and the Police Academies. The STARS lectures are usually divided in two parts. The first one introduces the road safety issue in Europe, placing the visited country in the overall EU objective of reduction of deaths/accidents and comparing key facts, figures, and trends. The second part focuses on speed as one of the biggest contributory factors of road traffic collisions, and on its social, economical, and environmental consequences. After the lecture, students can apply online to present their ideas in order to take part to the competition. Students are then selected to participate to the project on speed management. The second step is the “STARS Speed Management Camp” which is held in Brussels every year. During the camp the selected students from six different countries are given an integrated training week consisting of lectures by professionals from across all work sectors (European Commission, European Parliament, academics, public authorities, police officers, fleet managers, NGOs,…). During this week group exercises are also organised and, most importantly, the students speed management projects are assessed by ETSC experts. At this stage, students are therefore able to discuss and develop their project with experts before returning to their countries to implement their project in cooperation with ETSC.
Competition & Award: returning from the camp, students will work to finalise and implement their speed reduction project in the home countries. On the basis of their results, the best three groups of students are invited to Brussels to attend an Award Ceremony and to present the results of their efforts to road safety scientists, policy makers and private companies. These events will provide good opportunities for all actors involved to learn about best practice examples and to share their experience in science-based road safety campaigning.
