Turning Vehicle Data Into Actionable Road Intelligence in the Netherlands

About ROMO

ROMO (Road Monitor) is a national collaboration in the Netherlands initiated by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and coordinated by NDW (National Road Traffic Data Portal). The project brings together multiple innovation partners to develop information services based on anonymized vehicle-generated data.

The initiative builds on a clear realization: modern vehicles continuously generate large volumes of sensor data designed for vehicle safety and performance. At the same time, road authorities often rely on fixed infrastructure and periodic measurement campaigns to assess road conditions — in some cases conducted only every two years.

ROMO was established to explore how connected vehicle data can complement existing monitoring methods and provide more frequent, real-world insights into the condition of the road network.

Between 2026 and 2029, road authorities and innovation partners will jointly develop seven concrete information services within three key domains: asset management, road safety and weather management.

NIRA participates in ROMO as an innovation partner, contributing anonymized vehicle data and advanced analytics expertise to support the development of operational information services for Dutch road authorities.

The Challenge

From data points to daily decisions.

Dutch road authorities manage one of the most intensively used road networks in Europe. The need for accurate, timely information is constant, but current data sources have limitations. For example, existing scanning vehicles can report detailed assessments of asphalt conditions, but they are expensive to operate and typically only deployed every one or two years.

Within ROMO, three domains are central:

Asset Management

Road authorities use high-precision scanning vehicles to assess asphalt quality in detail every one or two years. ROMO data can add to that information by providing everyday insights by many vehicles that drive by and can monitor sudden changes in the asphalt quality.

Road Safety

When an accident happens, it’s already too late. Authorities are looking for earlier signals of risk. Anonymized driving behavior data, such as repeated harsh braking, can help identify dangerous intersections before accidents occur.

Weather Management
Winter services rely on forecasts and fixed measurement stations. Vehicle-based friction data can add near real-time insights to support faster, more informed decisions.

Across all three areas, the core challenge is the same: translating high volumes of vehicle signals into reliable, easy-to-interpret information that supports decision-making for national authorities, regional authorities and municipalities.

The Solution

An innovation partnership designed for scale, validation and long-term impact.

ROMO is structured as an innovation partnership where multiple data providers collaborate with road authorities to develop information products based on anonymized vehicle data.

The multi-partner model enables:

• Increased vehicle coverage and higher data volume.
• Comparison and validation of signals across different vehicle brands.
• Collaborative development of approaches that may contribute to broader standardization in Europe.

Within this framework, NIRA plays an active role in shaping how connected vehicle data are transformed into decision-ready road intelligence.

With real-time data from more than two million connected vehicles across Europe and the United States, NIRA converts driving behavior and friction-related signals into structured, objective and continuous road intelligence. This supports automated monitoring of entire road networks.

In ROMO, this experience contributes to:

• Reporting of current road and surrounding weather conditions by vehicles to support winter maintenance operations.
• Interpretation of driving behavior data to identify safety-critical hotspots.
• Increased support for scalable monitoring of road network assets, including pavement condition, road marking quality and skid resistance.

Drawing on long-term collaboration with road authorities, operators, municipalities and asset managers across Europe and the United States, NIRA brings practical experience in supporting both time-critical operational decisions and long-term road asset planning. This perspective aligns with ROMO’s ambition to transform continuous vehicle data into effective and sustainable road management support.

Looking Ahead

ROMO is currently in its early implementation phase. As information services are developed and evaluated together with Dutch road authorities, the project will generate practical insight into how connected vehicle data can complement traditional monitoring systems.

For NIRA, participation in ROMO provides an opportunity to further validate how large-scale vehicle data can support real-world road management. By contributing friction intelligence and driving behavior analytics, NIRA helps translate connected vehicle data into decision-ready insights for weather management, road safety and asset monitoring.

Beyond its national scope, ROMO represents an important step in exploring approaches to vehicle data usage in Europe. By collaborating with multiple innovation partners under a shared framework, the Netherlands is helping to set the stage for models that other countries may build upon.

ROMO marks another step toward data-driven road management where connected vehicles become an integrated part of how road networks are monitored and managed.