Road safety is one of the major challenges for a densely populated developing country like India. Indian roads fall witness to several road rule violations and negligence, that may or may not be the cause of minor and major accidents. A strong surveillance policy is significant in maintaining road safety. India accounted for 5 lakh road accidents every year, with over 1.5 lakh deaths. These statistics are one of the highest across the world. According to government data, 35% of all road accidents and 84% of the total road accidents occur to the citizens of the age group 18 to 60.

In this context, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways stated that he is intending to put AI-grounded technology in the government system to improve mobility. In his statement, he remarked that AI integration for road safety is the “need of the hour” for India. 

The introduction of AI in road safety will remove excessive human interference in the system making it more efficient and effective. Forensic post-crash investigations, the pattern of accidents due to black spots, fatigue indicators, and sleep detectors for driver and advanced vehicle collision avoidance systems are some of the priority areas identified by the minister.

Nitin Gadkari asked Indian entrepreneurs to develop indigenous AI-based solutions for monitoring and enforcement of motor vehicle legislation. The highway monitoring system is currently making use of imported hardware and software. Minister stated that the Ministry has commenced an initial project with AI-based technology in Nagpur. The technology in Nagpur will be used for the identification of black spots on roads, along with the integration of ML and AI for national highways. They are also implementing digital construction, that enables machines to translate design drawings on the field using sensors.

The centre has initiated a system for Advanced Traffic Monitoring (ATMS) in the Delhi Meerut Eastern Peripheral expressway. They also plan to integrate this technology into all national highways. This system can be used to capture number plates, identify discrepancies in vehicle documentation and monitor any traffic rules violations. The local authorities will be notified of any such vehicle.