A22, an open-air test bed for autonomous driving
For several years now, Autostrada del Brennero has been making a firm commitment to digitalisation, with the development of connected and cooperative driving as its ultimate goal
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The overall accident rate on the Brenner Motorway from 2001 to the present day has fallen by over 30 points. In 2025, it stood at 14.54, compared with a national average of 26.52. Contributing to this result have been substantial investments in maintenance, meticulous planning of works and the choice of high-performance materials such as porous asphalt and Corten safety barriers. However, in recent years the downward trend has levelled off, as it must contend with an unavoidable cause of accidents: the human factor, to which 93 per cent of road accidents can be attributed.
To overcome this hurdle as well, Autostrada del Brennero has, for several years now, been investing heavily in digitalisation, with the ultimate aim of developing connected and cooperative driving. It all stems from the European C-Roads Italy project, which forms part of the European C-Roads programme that coordinates various European countries to develop and harmonise Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) – technologies that enable vehicles and infrastructure to communicate with one another.
