The Senior Adviser to the ERTICO-ITS Europe, Professor Eric Sampson has affirmed that the ITS European Congress 2023 in Lisbon has shown that European ITS can deliver mobility that is accessible, equitable, affordable, resilient, has zero fatalities and has zero emissions.
As Chief Rapporteur, Prof Sampson was giving his final closing summary at a Congress as he retires from his role, which allowed him to reflect on the successes of the transport technology industry.
However he gave a warning to the delegates saying, “Hitting two or more of these targets at the same time is still very hard. Most of the technologies are ready but the policy makers are lagging behind. If we had a clear political drive; if we accepted the price of deciding to reach key goals quickly – then Zero fatalities Zero emissions are within our reach.”
Prof Sampson added that “the problems that remain are mostly about waiting for the perfect solution or unwillingness to adapt our behaviour. The message to all of us is that we need to change – NOW. I live in a farming area in North Yorkshire where there’s a saying – Don’t wait for the storm to pass – learn to work in the rain.”
His closing summary pointed to how the earliest Congresses were “showcases for declassified military technology or research projects seeking new knowledge”, rather than exploration of new services.
“There’s now much more joint working so instead of suppliers telling users “Our system does this you should buy it” the focus is now “tell me what you want to achieve and we’ll work together to design and deploy solutions that deliver it”,” he said.
And Prof Sampson gave an emotional farewell concluding by saying, “It’s time for me to share the pleasure and the privilege of leading the rapporteur teams so I’m handing over to Wolfgang Hoefs who will do all I do but with more energy and more stamina. Goodbye.”
He was given a standing ovation by the audience and the ERTICO CEO Joost Vantomme then gave a short speech praising Prof Sampson’s unique contribution to the ITS Industry and its World and European Congresses.
(Picture – Highways News)
