Euro NCAP & DFRS join forces for safer roads in Europe

SEVILLE, SPAIN – Euro NCAP signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Data for Road Safety (DFRS) during the 16^th ITS European Congress 2025, hosted by the City of Seville and ERTICO-ITS Europe. The MoU formalises collaboration to enhance vehicle safety assessments through the integration of real-time road hazard data.

As part of its Speed Assistance System requirements for vehicle performance as outlined in Euro NCAP’s 2026 Protocol on Safe Driving Vehicle Assistance, Euro NCAP will introduce Local Hazard warnings and data sharing. This will require vehicle manufacturers to share local hazard warning information as a pre-requisite for the safety rating.

Euro NCAP’s 2026 Protocol acknowledges both cloud-based and direct communication technologies as valid channels for sharing safety-relevant data and recommends a combined approach as maximising road safety. Euro NCAP encourages manufacturers to use the DFRS ecosystem as the reference cloud for communication. For each Local Hazard covered by the vehicle, the vehicle manufacturer is encouraged to demonstrate, by means of fulfilling the self-declaration forms developed by DFRS and Euro NCAP, that vehicle data is received, used and processed within the DFRS ecosystem.

This exclusive collaboration between DFRS and Euro NCAP is a real first for the automotive industry and will lead to the sharing of the most up-to-date and trusted safety data from vehicle manufacturers. This information will be used to create Local Hazard warnings as well as play a vital role in our new 2026 testing protocols leading to long-term benefits for the safety of all European road users.

Richard Schram, Technical Director Euro NCAP

DFRS is built as a cooperative platform between vehicle manufacturers, service providers, suppliers and road authorities. By enabling the trusted exchange of safety-related data, DFRS delivers a tangible contribution to the European Vision Zero with an ambition level of close to zero fatalities by 2050. This MoU with Euro NCAP marks a significant milestone. For the first time, data sharing for safety is part of the vehicle assessment protocol of Euro NCAP.

Joost Vantomme, Chair DFRS General Assembly ecosystem

This collaboration is the result of a year-long effort between DFRS & Euro NCAP with the goal of enhancing road safety. The remarkable progress achieved underscores the dedication of both public and private entities in addressing this critical issue. The unwavering efforts of DFRS members and Euro NCAP at both the technical and non-technical level gives me confidence that this partnership will have a profound and lasting impact on road safety.

Mohanad Ismail, DFRS Tech Group Chair

Editor’s note

About Data for Road Safety (DFRS):

The mission of the DFRS ecosystem is to improve road safety by maximising the reach of safety-related traffic information powered by safety data generated by vehicles and road infrastructure operators. Alerts generated by vehicles, along with infrastructure data, are shared using a decentralised data collaboration architecture. The ecosystem is the institutional follow-up from the Data Task Force established by European transport ministers. A multi-party contractual framework is in force for the exchange of safety-related traffic information (SRTI) among the participants, and to create the SRTI events mentioned in the delegated Regulation 886/2013.