Despite India’s major city advancements, road accidents are still on the rise with 480,652 casualties in 2016, according to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. In fact, seventeen people die in road accidents every hour, based on the Accidents India 2016 report. Not only does this put India on top of the list of most road accidents in the world, it is a wakeup call for countries across the globe to focus on road safety for drivers and pedestrians.
To prevent the rise of vehicle accidents, this requires the focus of leaders in the auto tech industry to develop innovations and enhance current technologies to make our roads more safe and exciting. So, from speed management systems to traffic surveillance, check out these revolutionary technologies that are set to improve road safety in India and across the globe.
Reinventing traffic surveillance
As traffic surveillance cameras are vital components of an intelligent traffic system, they provide the flexibility to survey running objects both on the road and nearby. Speeding is one of the main causes of fatal accidents. As stated by experts from Tait & Hall, cities must take measures to prevent wrongful cases of hit-and-runs, vehicle accidents, and motor injuries. In fact, the city police are seeking Rs 75 crore to fund the smart city project for complete surveillance. In adoptive traffic signals, the camera will operate based on the vehicle numbers passing through –detecting any signs of traffic regulations.
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Solar-powered roads
In 2014, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the primary goal to increase solar power capacity to 100 GW by 2022. However, India does not have enough electricity to power the country’s entire cities, towns, and villages. Thus, powering electric vehicles at charging stations is bound to pose a wide challenge, and even fail in demand. Nonetheless, the proposition to build solar-powered roads that charge electric vehicles on the go is a valuable option.
LiDAR – Light Detection And Ranging or Light imaging
LiDAR is the remote sensing method that uses pulsed laser light to rate the distance of targets. This measures the distance by illuminating it with a pulse laser light and reflect with a sensor. So how does this relate to road improvements and safety? Traffic controllers are beginning to use LiDAR devices that measure the speed of vehicles moving above the authorized speed. This allows the LiDAR system to detect objects nearby for the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and the development of self-driving vehicles.
As Intelligent Transport Systems are becoming the most promising tech for road safety, more cities across India are acknowledging the demands of these technologies. As innovative technology continues to rise in road safety and regulation, drivers and pedestrians should expect to see major changes on the Indian roads.
Its a welcome news.
but isnt it important to fix the basics first?
poor quality standards of roads, pot holes, no design standards in municipal road works, curruption in execution which leads poor quality, lack of enforcement of basic traffic rules . Arent we jumping ahead without fixing the basics?