By Vinay Rai
India’s road network and transportation is growing very rapidly. But the number of road accidents are also increasing. A National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report says that the number of road accidents shot up to 4,03,000 in 2021. Of them 1,55,000 were fatal. An analysis of the causes of accidents revealed that almost 87,000 deaths (60%) were owing to over-speeding and 42,000 because of dangerous or careless driving.
A death does not end with the loss of one life. It imperils many lives in the family. The calamity becomes very critical and cruel when the dead person is the sole bread-winner of the family. The impact of the tragedy is inexplicable and immeasurable.
The state and the central governments take several measures like improving the road infrastructure and engaging with social organizations and agencies to drive road-safety. New and innovative technologies also can play a big role in reducing the number of accidents. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomous technology and Telematics are showing very encouraging results on this front.
Role of technology
For a few years autonomous vehicles are getting much attention and investment. Even after wide adoption, such vehicles would have to coexist with human-driven vehicles. Solutions to harness IoT, Analytics and Cloud technologies can contribute immensely to improvise the human-driven vehicles with autonomous features like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
By bringing together technologists from various spectrums and sectors, new-age tech organisations are leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to build advanced fleet and road safety solutions that reduce the risk of accidents, improve driver skills, and protect the bottom line.
The adoption of safety solutions has been picking up thanks to increased awareness, especially in the commercial fleet segment[ . I believe that organisations with any kind of transportation ecosystem, logistics or employee transport, would invest heavily in this kind of technology. This would not require them to discard their existing vehicles or to modify them. This technology is an add-on solution that can be installed in any vehicle. It provides a significant part of the value that autonomous vehicles offer.
Products like AI-powered vision-based systems decrease risks and enable real-time in-cab alerts that notify drivers to take corrective action, warn of potential accidents and help make safe driving decisions in real-time. Such cutting-edge technology reduces unsafe driving behaviours like drowsy and distracted driving by up to 96%. Through AI and predictive analysis, fleet managers can have better insight into the events on the road and how drivers respond to them. Technologies for fleet and freight vehicles are also being introduced to capture instances of tailgating, systems that detect fatigue, and distractions.
Companies like Netradyne are focussing on developing solutions to aid the safety of drivers and coach them by offering the best practices and providing visibility into how they are operating. They help reduce risky driving behaviour by incentivizing drivers to practice road safety. Netradyne has even developed a proprietary Safe Driving Score, called GreenZone Score, which is computed based on the analysis of every moment of driving.
This is done by combining AI, ML and edge computing into a single platform. This would provide information about compliant driving and identify risky driving performance. By developing in-cab alerts and coaching, such systems provide meaningful data to the driver, fleet and management team, helping large commercial fleet operators ensure the safety of the drivers and vehicles.
Automated way of upskilling and coaching
With mobility transformation evolving rapidly, it is expected that the wide spectrum of technology and infrastructure available will need a new generation of technologists to improve and innovate safety measures and make them scalable and reliable. These experts can also advise on the implementation of the best practices and can identify and assess potential risks during the design/construction stage on all new road projects to minimise or prevent collisions.
As almost 80% of accidents are caused due to avoidable driving negligence and human error, logistics companies are focusing on upskilling drivers for safe driving. Fleet managers leverage automated driver coaching solutions and enable learning through gamification, thus helping drivers review videos of their own risky driving instances. When drivers see their own videos, they are likely to reflect a lot more, and try to drive safer.
The Road Ahead
With India on its way to becoming a USD 5 trillion economy, it is pivotal for its road transport requirement to align with the global policies and safety standards. The total socio-economic cost due to road accidents in India is USD15.71 billion – USD 38.81 billion, which is estimated to be 0.55%–1.35% of the nation’s GDP. Therefore, fleet operators and transport authorities must leverage technological innovations, countermeasures, and policies to make Indian roads safer.
(Disclaimer: Vinay Rai is Senior Vice President – Engineering, at Netradyne. Views are personal)
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