Tecnologie, Innovazione e Sicurezza
Safety Interventions, Technologies and Tools
Customer safety is one of Autostrade per l'Italia's priorities. To ensure safe use of the network granted under concession, Autostrade per l'Italia has developed an extensive plan of measures covering specific issues.
Paving and Draining Asphalt
Infrastructure maintenance is crucial to ensure customers can enjoy safe and comfortable travel. This is why Autostrade per l'Italia is constantly committed to guaranteeing operational efficiency and increasing safety standards on its complex and extensive network. Healthy paving is one the key elements for safety.
To date, about 100% of the network granted under concession is covered with draining asphalt, a covering developed to prevent wheels from getting into contact with water, with the exception of areas where this measure is deemed inappropriate (mountain roads, tunnels, road sections being widened).
High-frequency accident locations (PISM: Punti a Incidentalità Superiori alla Media)
To reduce the number of accidents at locations classified as PISM, i.e. road sections characterized by an above-average number of accidents, more than 2,000 specific interventions have been carried out over the years (230 in 2023), such as the installation of warning signs, light systems, special paving, etc.
Tunnel Safety
As part of its plan to comply with EU and national legislation, Autostrade per l'Italia has adopted additional measures in certain tunnels along its network to protect the safety of users and workers. These include, among the others, the introduction of specific speed limits, and minimum spacing between vehicles, indicated by special signs along the route.
Learn more about tunnel safety rulesAnti-crossing nets
Central anti-crossing nets have been installed on all viaducts with separate carriageways (around 300 km), which allowed eliminating accidental fatalities.
Fencing networks
To reduce accidents caused by the intrusion of animals onto the road, ASPI has continued its plan to upgrade fencing networks¹. In 2023, anti-intrusion networks were upgraded on approximately 340 km, reaching over 1400 km of coverage since 2019. In 2023, accidents caused by impacts with animals along the entire network dropped by around 25% compared to the average of the previous three years.
¹i.e. upgrading the anti-boar intrusion fences, replacing standard nets with wildlife nets and combinations of several interventions.
Rumble strips and special micro rumble strips (so-called microcumuli)
To reduce incursion/skid due to distraction or microsleep, systems like rumble strips and micro rumble strips were installed for about 231 km in 2023, covering more than 500 km.
Wrong way signage
Directional arrows are placed on the pavement of the network's 266 junctions at locations where drivers may confuse travel directions. At all motorway entrances (toll gates, service areas, car parks) there are also 1,000 deterrent signs with photometric and dimensional devices to prevent wrong-way entry.
Emergency pitch signage
Specific signs are installed on the network to prevent users from incorrectly using emergency pitches as lay-bys. For prolonged stops in the event of an emergency, customers are provided with road signs to identify the most suitable areas to park their vehicles.
Worksite signage upgrade
To improve traffic safety at motorway worksites and to reduce risks for operators, Autostrade per l'Italia has upgraded its worksite signage, supplementing the standards required by current regulations.
Crash cushions
Autostrade per l'Italia has introduced crash cushions (supplementary to current regulations) as additional protection for slow-moving work sites on transit lanes. There are currently 30 crash cushions in operation distributed over the entire network.
SOS Columns
Motorway users are never left alone: the traffic police and service staff are ready to intervene at any time thanks to the S.O.S. columns installed along the emergency lanes, approximately every two kilometres.
The SOS columns allow a mechanical and/or medical emergency call to be generated once the corresponding button is pressed.
The request, associated with the kilometre from which it was sent, is received by the competent local radio room (Radio Information Centre).
Thanks to GSM technology, the Radio Information Centre Operator contacts the user by speakerphone, both to collect information on the type of vehicle to be sent and, in the event of broken-down vehicle, on any preferences regarding the authorised party from which the mechanical rescue service is to be received. While waiting, stay close to the column: you will always be visible even in the event of fog, even at night as the column emits a flashing light that activates in the event of a call for health assistance.
Traffic Police
The Traffic Police ensures supervision with more than 70 patrols along the network at the same time, guarantees first aid to people together with Autostrade per l'Italia staff, to protect traffic safety.
INITIATIVES IN COOPERATION WITH THE TRAFFIC POLICE LAUNCHED IN 2023
In 2023, with the aim of minimising road accidents, Autostrade per l'Italia launched initiatives and awareness campaigns through events, training material and discussion sessions, in collaboration with the Traffic Police. Specifically:
- a communication campaign to promote responsible driving behaviour, for the first time under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic “Don't close your eyes. Road safety concerns you too”. It was broadcast on TV, radio, web, newspapers and in motorway service areas. The initiative was also promoted in Italian schools, located in the regions crossed by the motorway network, with the aim of reaching about 12,000 students in 200 secondary schools and making them protagonists of a zero-accident future, educating them on safety before, during and after driving;
- During the peak summer period, road safety awareness activities were held in a several Service Areas along the network, focusing on responsible driving behaviour, the use of seat belts by all passengers, the importance of a correct diet and a healthy sleeping pattern, as well as disincentives to impaired driving through simulated impaired driving activities, with the use of special visors;
- the twelfth edition of the “Safety Heroes” campaign on the occasion of the Giro d'Italia, to highlight the work of the agents and motorway officers who everyday guard the road network on the arterial roads along the country;
- the alcohol and drug test campaign, with 38 services by the Traffic Police in 2023 alone. In particular, through mobile second-level analysis laboratories for on-the-spot testing of driving under the influence of drugs. With the assistance of doctors and analysts, from a saliva sample, the instrumentation of the laboratory is able to return the result in a few minutes, enabling traffic police patrols to verify the violation on the spot;
- in April 2023, the first Safety Point was opened in the Casilina est service area (A1 Cassino), a place dedicated to disseminating and sharing road safety issues and promoting responsible driving behaviour;
- the activation of RTM (Remote Tachograph Monitoring) stations at the Rimini Sud and A1 Variante di Valico sites, which remotely intercept heavy vehicles potentially breaching traffic rules (tampered tachographs, failure to comply with driving times, ...) and support the Traffic Police during controls;
- the activation of a check point dedicated to Special Transports and Heavy Goods Vehicles at the Milano Est toll gate on the A4 motorway, equipped with lasers with 3D scanning and a static weighing system to identify the mass and volume of vehicles. A tool that allows the optimisation of checking procedures and the intervention of Traffic Police teams and patrols, thus reducing intervention times, further implementing the safety systems for travellers and hauliers;
- implementation of a snow emergency management plan in 2023 jointly with the traffic police, aimed at emphasising Autostrade per l'Italia's commitment in terms of manpower and means deployed to manage emergencies, as well as providing a series of useful tips when travelling on motorways in snowy conditions. A web area dedicated to winter operations is now active, with a vademecum containing safety tips for winter driving and details on the obligation to carry winter equipment on board.
- extension of the Tutor system for detecting average speed, with current coverage of approximately 1,600 km of the Autostrade per l'Italia network.
Mechanical Assistance
In the event of an accident or breakdown of your vehicle on the Autostrade per l'Italia network, you can use the following toll-free telephone numbers to request mechanical assistance, choosing one of the authorised organisations:
| Motorway | Mechanical Assistance Call center | |
|---|---|---|
| ACI (authorised on the entire Autostrade per l'Italia network) | 803-116 | |
| Europ Assistance (authorised on the entire Autostrade per l'Italia network) | 803-803 | |
| IMA (authorised on the entire Autostrade per l'Italia network) | 800 613 613 | |
| ESA authorised exclusively on the motorway sections below: | ||
| A1 | Fabro-Napoli | 800-584.811 |
| A1 | Diramazione Roma nord e sud | 800-584.811 |
| A12 | Roma-Civitavecchia | 800-584.811 |
| A16 | Napoli-Lacedonia | 800-584.811 |
| A30 | Caserta-Salerno | 800-584.811 |
| AXA authorised exclusively on the motorway sections below: | ||
| A1 | Ceprano-Napoli | 800-111.911 |
| A16 | Napoli-Lacedonia | 800-111.911 |
| A30 | Caserta-Salerno | 800-111.911 |
Autostrade per l'Italia authorises industry operators holding the mandatory legal requirements to provide the mechanical breakdown service. Such operators, based upon the authorisation granted, are expressly required, in the event of an accident or breakdown with a vehicle stationary on the carriageway or on the access or exit ramps or in the emergency lane, if less than 3 metres wide, to intervene within 20 minutes for light vehicles and 30 minutes for heavy vehicles.
Roadside Assistance Certificate Application
To apply for a roadside assistance certificate, send the “Roadside assistance certificate application form” duly completed and signed to the e-mail address info@autostrade.it specifying in the subject line of the e-mail ‘Roadside assistance certificate application’ and enclosing a copy of the identity document and a copy of the payment receipt issued by the workshop. If the applicant is not the owner of the vehicle in question, please also enclose the signed proxy with a copy of the identity documents of the proxy and the delegating party.
Geolocation of the mechanical assistance service
Motorway mechanical assistance vehicles used by and belonging to the Organisations providing the service have been fitted with an on-board satellite tracking system. The installation of the system, requested by Autostrade per l'Italia and the Organisations providing the Mechanical Assistance Service, is necessary to guarantee efficient and effective management of rescue operations on the motorway network under concession and to ensure the safety and assistance of users, with service levels in line with the requirements of current legislation.
