Road Safety Week: Road safety is a critical issue in India because of the increasing number of accidents in the country. As per the Annual Report on ‘Road Accidents in India-2022 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways a total of 4,61,312 road accidents have been reported by States and Union Territories (UTs) during the calendar year 2022, which claimed 1,68,491 lives and caused injuries to 4,43,366 persons. Such alarming statistics underscores the importance of following proper road safety measures while on road. However, thanks to technological innovations the future of road safety looks promising. During this Road Safety Week (January 11-17), Vanesh Naidoo, Founder and Director, Safe Cams talks about some of the technological advancements that are making the roads safer for commuters and pedestrians.
 

Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV)

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Naidoo says Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) that rely on a framework of technologies that communicate and manage an unbelievable volume of data are the future of road safety. Talking about how these function, he informs, "Information is transmitted in both directions, from the vehicle to pedestrians (V2P), other vehicles (V2V) and infrastructure (V2I). Real-time data exchange assists drivers to adjust their speed and route, thus achieving road safety."
 

Cell Phone Blocking Technology

Distracted driving, especially on cell phones is among the major causes of avoidable accidents. To do away with this, cell phone blocking technology is on the way. "These technologies many times come in the form of apps built into smartphones that prevent calls and texts when a vehicle is moving. More sophisticated apps also log driving speed and other variables," he avers.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Internet of Things

AI and IoT have crucial roles in road safety and vehicle protection. With these technological breakthroughs, which combine improvements in visual technologies with vehicle connectivity advances, the founder and director of Safe Cams says that the risks related to driving can be minimized. He adds, "Driver state monitoring can already catch drowsy, distracted driving behaviors. It can also monitor if the driver is wearing a seat belt or using their mobile phone when driving – such monitoring happens all time and could help to prevent accidents before they arise."

 

Augmented Reality Big Data Analytics

As many people in India use Google Maps to plot their journeys – the amount of information that Google collects from these users can be utilized for predicting traffic patterns, redirecting traffic after an accident happens and finding out zones with a lot of accidents. He says that this information can then be fed to the driver in real time via a Heads-up-Display so they are better prepared for what may lie ahead on the road.

 

Proximity Sensors

These sensors recognize the presence or absence of an object within a certain range without physical contact. Talking about this technology, he informs, "They employ different technologies like infrared, ultrasonic or capacitive to measure the distance between the sensor and an object. When the sensors sense a potential collision, they activate the automatic emergency braking system." 

 

While these technological innovations are sure to give you a safer drive on the road, nothing can beat driver awareness. "Some other effective measures of road safety are basic awareness about vehicle, defensive driving according to weather and road conditions, use of vehicle lights and horn, wearing seat belt, well use of vehicle mirrors, avoid over-speeding, understanding road lights, maintaining distance of vehicle on road, proper understanding of handling crisis situation, etc.," he sums up saying.