The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi inaugurated the Intel’s Safety Pioneers Conference. The Conference brought together leading organisations from industry, academia, and government to collaborate, innovate and advance road safety. 

The Minister termed road accidents as one of the biggest problems for the country with 5 lakh accidents, 1.5 lakh deaths, and 3 lakh serious injuries every year. India has the second-largest road network in the world after the USA, with 63 lakh kilometres of the road network.  

Further, the minister emphasised the implementation of Artificial Intelligence and the new-age technologies that can bring great relief to the people. The Safety Pioneers Conference will serve as a platform to introduce pioneering road safety initiatives & technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), ADAS, and other emerging technologies that can bring impact at scale.  

Commenting on the conference and road safety initiatives, Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India, and Vice President, Intel Foundry Services said, “Road safety has always been a pressing issue in our country, with the highest rate of traffic accidents in the world. Advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence are playing a transformational role in enabling smarter and safer vehicles, roads, transportation systems and drivers. Intel along with its ecosystem partners from the government, industry and academia has been relentlessly working towards leveraging the power of technology to help achieve India’s road safety goals. And this conference further extends the commitment by bringing together critical players to collaborate, innovate and advance road safety for India.”  

Furthering its focus on using technology for road safety, the company showcased Intel® Onboard Fleet Services (“Solution”), an AI-powered fleet safety solution for commercial vehicles, and exclusively designed for Indian conditions. It offers Collision Avoidance Systems (CAS), Driver Monitoring Systems, fleet telematics, fleet health, and fuel efficiency features.   

India has one of the highest rates of traffic accidents in the world – responsible for nearly 11 per cent of all road fatalities across the globe with just 1 per cent of the world’s vehicles. There are 17 deaths every hour and an accident every minute on Indian roads. Six out of 10 accidents involving commercial fleets can be prevented with timely driver interventions. Moreover, the commercial fleet industry suffers efficiency losses up to INR 48,000 crore per year due to accidents and fleet breakdowns.