Segurvital, Idbiker, Livall, Pars And Stepvial, the start up finalists in the VIII edition of the Línea Directa Foundation's Road Safety And Entrepreneurship Award

• Through this event, which this year celebrates its 8th edition, the Línea Directa Foundation seeks to promote entrepreneurship in road safety by supporting and financing innovative ideas that help to combat accidents on our roads. 
• A total of 62 projects were submitted to this latest edition, 19% more than last year. The proposals include a wide range of ideas ranging from innovative solutions to increase vehicle safety to intelligent personal protective equipment and devices. 
• On 28 April, the shortlisted start ups will present their projects to a high-profile jury in charge of selecting the final winner of the edition, who will receive €20,000 net as a grant, with no drag along and definitive, as well as training, mentoring and access to funding rounds.

Madrid, 11 April 2022. The VIII edition of Línea Directa Foundation's Entrepreneurs and Road Safety Award already has finalists: Segurvital, Idbiker, Livall, Pars and Stepvial. The five projects will compete for the award, the winner of which will receive a grant of €20,000 with no drag-along or co-investment, as well as training, mentoring and access to funding rounds. 

Through this event, which has established itself as a unique initiative in its field, the Línea Directa Foundation aims to foster entrepreneurship in road safety by supporting and financing innovative ideas that help to prevent accidents on our roads and improve the treatment received by victims. 

A total of 62 projects were submitted to this latest edition, 19% more than last year. The proposals include a wide range of ideas ranging from innovative solutions to increase vehicle safety to intelligent personal protective equipment and devices. 

A Technical Committee formed by Línea Directa Aseguradora, the Bankinter Innovation Foundation and IESE Business School has chosen the five finalist projects, based on criteria such as their possible impact, their viability, their innovative character or their social character. 

•    Segurvital (Logroño): Segurvital Roads has created Segurvital, a structure that attaches to the underside of guardrails to reduce the impact and severity of an accident. It has a strip of rollers made from recycled tyres that prevents a motorist or cyclist in a collision from being thrown into the centre of the road in the event of a collision. This solution would also help to avoid possible amputations or spinal cord injuries.

•    Idbiker (Madrid): This is a smart identification tag equipped with an NFC chip and a QR code which, when placed on the user's helmet and by simply bringing a mobile device close to the user or reading the QR code, allows the identity of the injured person and their medical data to be known in order to facilitate initial assistance in the event of an accident. In addition, it sends an SMS/email notification to the contact person with the exact location of the injured party. It also shows the contact telephone numbers of people to notify in the event of an accident, as well as allowing the emergency services to be called.

•    Livall (Madrid): This start up has created smart helmets for bicycles and scooters with an automatic LED lighting system that includes directional change indicators that can be controlled from the handlebars. The helmets also feature built-in speakers, windproof microphone and Bluetooth. In the event of an accident, its worldwide SOS patent, based on gravitational and motion sensors, is able to detect a fall followed by a 90-second period of immobility, after which it automatically sends a message to the emergency contacts set up in the APP with the geolocation of the injured person. 

•    Pars (Cáceres): It is a passive safety system for motorcycle riders. In the event of an accident, it brakes the body of the driver and possible passengers, reducing the sliding distance and speed. It avoids impacts with off-road objects or, if they do occur, it significantly reduces damage and burns caused by dragging.

•    Stepvial (Tarragona): have created the Smart LED System (SLI for its acronym in Spanish), an integrated lighting system that combines sensors and LED panels. This method improves road safety by exponentially multiplying the effectiveness of the current passive (reflective paint) horizontal signage into active (SLI). 

On 28 April, the five start ups will have to defend their projects before a renowned jury made up of prominent figures from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the administration and the business world: 

•    Jorge Ordás, Deputy Director General for Mobility Management and Technology of the DGT.
•    Clara Gutiérrez, Managing Partner at BRAIN VC Fund.
•    Juan Roure, Professor of Entrepreneurship at IESE Business School.
•    María Jesús Magro, Managing Director of the PONS Foundation.
•    Marisol Menéndez, Director of Open Innovation at Spain Startup.
•    Javier Megías, Director of the Bankinter Innovation Foundation Start up Programme.
•    Carlos Rodríguez Ugarte, CFO of Línea Directa Aseguradora.
•    Mar Garre, Managing Director of the Línea Directa Foundation. 

The winner of this year's edition of the competition will emerge from this defence, which will take place in the elevator pitch format.