Safe roads
Road accidents are being analysed by government agencies to elevate safety.
Road accidents are being analysed by government agencies to elevate safety.
Arecent conference held at Delhi by the SIAM (Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers) and ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India) in association with VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie), Germany, with the support of MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), put the stoplight on road accidents and how the government is analysing them to elevate safety. The latest statistics revealed during the course of the event put the loss of lives of people in road accidents in India is the last one year at 1.5 lakh This would account for 12.50 per cent of road traffic crashes globally. With 72 per cent of the victims in the age bracket of 15 to 49 years (and accounting for a total of 4.6 per cent road fatalities), the data released by MoRTH’s Transport Wing on August 4, 2017, indicated high road fatalities and a resultant need for roads in India to be safer.
If the introduction of safety features like ABS (Antilock Braking System) and EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) on new vehicles as standard from April 2018 would add a safety perspective to making Indian roads safer, the event saw experts and industry stakeholders point at a higher per centage of CVs involved in accidents. Despite ABS and EBD made mandatory in CVs in 2014, the higher involvement of CVs in accidents was delved upon. Attention was also drawn to a recent SIAM and ACMA study which indicated that over 70 per
cent of the road fatalities occurred due to driver error. In his address, Abhay Damle, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, mentioned that they were gearing up for real-time road accident research platform to investigate the root cause of a road traffic crash. “The MoRTH,” said Damle, “is aiming to cut down road deaths by 50 per cent by 2022.” It is looking at the introduction of an ‘Integrated Road Accident Management’ (IRAT) system over the next one year to make roads safe, he added.
The ‘Integrated Road Accident Management’ (IRAT), according to sources in the know of the development, will consider road accidents data based on GPS, police, Public Welfare Department, transport, and road construction agencies. It will investigate and carry out a thorough analysis of the reason for an accident. Stating that two-wheelers will have the best quality standards in the world by April 2019, Damle said, “We are also working to collect GPS-based data, which will be a real-time accident database.” “This would over time enable to find out the exact reason of a traffic crash, and whether it happened because of the infrastructure or because of a driver error,” he added. Of the opinion that such a measure would help to reduce road fatalities by up to 50 per cent by 2022, Damle stressed the need to optimise resource utilisation. This, he opined, would be possible through a scrappage policy. The scrappage policy would provide a big boost to the industry, he added.
Pointing at the role the erickshaws in Delhi, and how they could be made safer with the use of adaptable auto-sensors in the future, Damle expressed that there was is a lot of scope for improvement in the fuel efficiency of CVs. Expressed Vishwajit Sahay, Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industry & Public Enterprises, Government of India, in his address that there were many areas where
Germany and India could work together. “Germany and India could work together on electric mobility, connected vehicles, traffic management among others,” he mentioned.
Stefan Schlarp, First Secretary, Head of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, New Delhi, mentioned that India is one of the fastest growing automobile markets in the world. It is therefore imperative to implement modern safety systems, which are meaningful and important. Stressing on traffic control management as an important aspect, Schlarp averred that its researchers are contributing significantly to minimise accidents. Drawing attention to the German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS), Henrik Liers, Managing Director, VuFo GmbH, stated that safe, clean and sustainable transportation solutions for automobiles, pedestrians and bicyclists are necessary. The GIDAS system which was implemented in 1999 has collected over 2,000 crash reports each year in Hannover and Dresden, he informed. Supported by BASt (Federal Highway Research Institute) and FAT (German Association for Research in Automobile Technology), GIDAS analyses and pin-points the exact reason for a traffic crash. Various parameters such as driver fatigue, road condition, vehicle condition, and weather are taken into account during an investigation, explained Liers. He added, “In GIDAS, these parameters are broadly classified as ‘The Car’, ‘The Environment’ and ‘Participants’.”
In the session on sustainability chaired by Captain (Retired)
N S Mohanram, Advisor, TVS Motors & Chairman, SIAM Recycling Group, a need to develop economically viable recycling methods for automobiles was stressed upon. Even as the panelists focused on vehicle lifecycle starting with raw material and ending with scrappage and recycling, the spotlight was on the need to ensure sustainability. Apart from the need to innovate, the panelists delved upon alternative business models for low carbon manufacturing, and the need to reduce plastic consumption. Opined Mohanram that recycling would encourage more resource utilisation in all the sectors.