Transportation in the smart cities of the future – how do self-driving and related technologies make our lives safer?

The development of self-driving vehicles and smart city solutions is built on each other, as both areas are based on data-driven, networked infrastructure. Smart cities aim to optimize urban operations with the help of information and communication technologies – especially transport (its continuity and safety), energy use and sustainability. The emergence of micromobility devices, especially electric scooters, which are moderately regulated but are extremely dangerous due to their size and design, has also presented new challenges to experts working on self-driving cars.

According to ORFK data, the number of scooter accidents doubled in 2025 compared to 2024, with 600 people suffering minor or major accidents in 10 months. Self-driving cars will not be able to avoid all of them, but sensors placed on vehicles and in cities can help reduce their number. In addition to on-board sensors, the management of such situations is increasingly based on the exchange of data between vehicles and urban infrastructure, which can contribute to earlier recognition of risky situations and faster response.

As a result, systems can identify risky situations earlier and then respond faster (by braking, evading) to situations in which avoiding accidents depends on human reaction and decision-making. According to forecasts, the use of modern driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated vehicles – at the current penetration rate – could contribute to preventing up to a quarter of road accidents by 2050.

“We are also examining the efficiency of autonomous vehicle sensors and optimizing the operation of the systems within the framework of several research and innovation projects. We are also conducting tests in simulation and test track environments, the aim of which is for the systems to increase the identifiability of road users, thus supporting drivers in avoiding dangerous situations during traffic. The results are already promising, and we are collecting more and more information month by month so that we can drive safer than we do now in the age of driver assistance systems and self-driving”

– said Dr. Ernő Horváth, scientific director of the Automotive Research Center of Széchenyi István University.

The two development directions reinforce each other: autonomous vehicles are expected to spread in urban environments where smart infrastructure ensures the conditions for their operation. As a result, an integrated, intelligent mobility ecosystem may be created in the cities of the future, in which self-driving vehicles operate in cooperation with public transport and other mobility services.

In recent years, technical and ethical regulations recommended for autonomous vehicles have been published in the EU, and several standards are being prepared to ensure cooperation and data security. At the same time, experts draw attention to the fact that new threats may also appear in connection with self-driving vehicles: their protection against hackers must be ensured, and the management of collected travel and biometric data must also be regulated.

One of the key topics of the Transport Research Arena 2026 conference, to be held in Budapest between 18-21 May, is user-centric mobility, which also includes traffic safety. The discussions and presentations, which will be attended by around 3,000 industry experts from 69 countries around the world, will cover regulations, safety solutions and the role of car sharing. On the first day of the event, Peter Urban, professor at RWTH Aachen University, will give a presentation on road safety, with the participation of experts from other countries.