Brussels, 25 February 2026 – To enhance road safety across Europe, the Mobility Data Space (MDS) and the pan-European initiative Data for Road Safety (DFRS) have officially signed a cooperation agreement. The MDS is a data space funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) that enables sovereign data exchange between companies and public institutions. By combining its expertise and infrastructure with DFRS, a significant contribution is intended to be made toward the EU’s “Vision Zero” objective of eliminating road deaths by 2050. In 2024 alone, 19,940 people lost their lives on EU roads. The economic costs of road accidents are estimated at around EUR 280 billion annually. The partnership supports the objectives of the European Commission and the German Federal Government to advance initiatives such as Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and the secure sharing of mobility data.
Real-time exchange of safety-relevant data
The DFRS consortium - comprising more than 30 industry partners from the automotive sector, the technology industry, and public road authorities - aims to enhance the timeliness and quality of safety-related traffic information (SRTI) dissemination across the EU by leveraging real-time sensor data from connected vehicles. Safety-related events identified by the European Commission under the delegated Regulation 886/2013 include, among others, wrong-way drivers, exceptional weather conditions, short-term roadworks, reduced visibility, objects on the roadway, or unprotected accident areas. Information about these events is detected using vehicle-based sensor systems and shared in near-real-time with relevant stakeholders via the MDS for the processing and distribution of warnings. Subsequently, in accordance with EU legislation, the data is published via national access points.
“The Mobility Data Space is much more than a technical interface - it connects the various stakeholders of our economy and serves as a space where trust and innovation come together,” emphasises Manfred Rauhmeier, Chairman of the acatech Foundation and representative of the majority shareholder of MDS. “This cooperation impressively demonstrates how sovereign data exchange creates concrete economic and societal added value: we make mobility safer and more efficient and, as a result, bring a sovereign and resilient digital infrastructure for transport in Germany and Europe to life.” Moritz Stober, Managing Director of MDS, adds: “The live-streaming capabilities of the Mobility Data Space enable the near-real-time sharing of safety-related data in a European context, improves traffic management solutions, and represents a key building block for automated and connected driving.”
The strategic partnership between MDS and DFRS strengthens the secure and standardised traffic data exchange across Europe, creating important benefits for road safety. Joost Vantomme, CEO of ERTICO-ITS Europe and chair of DFRS, states: “Together with the Mobility Data Space, road safety data is taking the next step towards a Europe-wide exchange - 4.7 million events were measured by DFRS participants in a single month of 2025, underscoring the expanding scale and operational momentum of DFRS.”
A European cross-sector approach for safer roads
Since 2017, DFRS has brought together automotive manufacturers, road authorities, and technology partners in a unique collaboration: “By combining the strengths of DFRS and MDS, Škoda as well as other vehicle manufacturers gain access to a scalable ecosystem for sharing and consuming safety-critical sensor data. This helps Škoda to further improve safety solutions like the Traffication app”, says Michal Vondra, Lead V2X Technology & Systems Expert from Škoda Auto. National road operators integrate this data into their infrastructure and, together with service and navigational map-providers, ensure that data can be used operationally. Together with Mobilithek, operated by the BMV, MDS forms the foundation of an ecosystem for mobility data in Germany – with corresponding cooperation in Europe via the network of national access points and integration into the European Mobility Data Space.
For BMW, this contributes directly to its safety mission: “Improving road safety is a core element of what we stand for. Through the Mobility Data Space, we share and access safety-critical warnings with and from our partners and help prevent accidents across Europe – we already provide data from approximately 8 million connected BMW vehicles in Europe via the Mobility Data Space,” states Michael Würtenberger, Vice President Business Line My Journey at BMW.
“HERE Technologies uses real-time data from various sources to enhance its mapping, traffic and road alert services, while supporting authorities in detecting incidents faster and improving traffic management. As a founding member of both the MDS and DFRS, HERE Technologies is delighted to see this collaboration coming to life. With the MDS playing the role of a trusted one-stop-shop for DFRS data, it allows HERE to provide fully EuroNCAP-compliant road alerts services to vehicle manufacturers and thereby creates real incremental value for businesses, public authorities, and road users alike." explains Christian Buchbauer, Senior Director Strategy & Operations at HERE Technologies.
“Mercedes-Benz is committed to advancing traffic safety. Our contribution within DFRS, supported by Mobility Data Space, is one of several initiatives we support that benefit both, Mercedes-Benz customers, and other road users”, states Michael Drzymala, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services GmbH.
The cooperation between MDS, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport, and DFRS demonstrates how European data collaboration can contribute to political goals as the EU’s Vision Zero and highlights its economic and societal value.
About the Mobility Data Space
The Mobility Data Space (MDS) is a data ecosystem that enables mobility sector partners to exchange data on their own terms to develop innovative, environmentally friendly, and user-centric mobility services. Its technical design is closely aligned with the European Data Strategy, ensuring data sovereignty for providers, decentralised data storage, and compliance with European data regulations. The MDS is operated by the non-profit organisation DRM Datenraum Mobilität GmbH and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV).
In addition to the acatech Foundation, its shareholders include BMW INTEC Beteiligungs GmbH, Caruso GmbH, Deutsche Bahn AG, DHL Group, HERE Europe B.V., HUK-COBURG, Mercedes-Benz AG, VDV eTicket Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Volkswagen Group Info Services AG, and the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and North Rhine-Westphalia. More information here: www.mobility-dataspace.eu
About Data for Road Safety
The Data for Road Safety (DFRS) is a public-private cooperation to create the ecosystem towards data sharing for Safety-Related Traffic Information (SRTI) in Europe. The mission of the DFRS ecosystem is to improve road safety by maximising the reach of safety-related traffic information generated by vehicles and infrastructure. Using the latest technologies, vehicles are able to detect and warn road users about dangerous road conditions, for example, when roads are slippery. However, the true benefit of these warnings can only be fully realized when they are shared with other road users and road managers. Within the SRTI Ecosystem, alerts generated by vehicles, along with infrastructure data, are shared using a decentralized data collaboration architecture.
DFRS is chaired by ERTICO-ITS Europe and its members consist of public authorities/road operators, vehicle manufacturers, automotive suppliers and service providers, complemented by associations and organisations active in these segments. The ecosystem is the institutional follow-up from the Data Task Force established by European transport ministers alongside the European Commission and the private sector. 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 EU delegated Regulation 886/2013. More information here: www.dataforroadsafety.eu