That there is an immediate and pressing need to address road safety, is widely agreed upon by all – riders, drivers, citizens, activists, NGOs and various state and central governments. There are hundreds, if not thousands of campaigns and road safety awareness programs throughout our country, but with very little impact. It is just not possible to educate each and every rider in such a vast country on the perils of rash and loud driving. I have spent countless hours on the roads observing the riders and still find it a mystery on – what leads them to drive in a rash manner? what causes them to use the horn without pause for no reason? what causes them to overspeed? what causes them to change the lane every few seconds? what is the reason to horn at a red light just turned green? what is the urgency to use the phone while riding?
My observations have lead me to believe, that our first order of priority must be to address the following concerns:
- Over-speeding (this indirectly also encourages the use of horn by the driver and fellow-riders. It is also the leading cause of death in road accidents; 59.6% of all deaths in India as estimated by the National Crime Records Bureau)
- Unnecessary use of loud horn (leading cause of noise pollution, discomfort and disorientation)
- Driving while talking on the phone (leading cause of accidents)
- Frequent lane changing (which causes confusion, leads to the use of unnecessary horn and causes accidents)
- Stopping the vehicle at the Zebra crossing (thus causing an inconvenience to pedestrians)
- Crossing the signal, while it is still Red (leads to confusion, use of horn and accidents)
I strongly believe that the only firm and sure way of addressing all the mentioned concerns is through the use of simple, government mandated technology in all our vehicles. Consider the following idea:
| Concern (in order of importance) | Technological Resolution Options ( Government mandated through ARAI/ SIAM for all vehicles manufactured and sold in India. All technology must be tamper proof and linked to vehicle insurance) | Advantages |
| Over-speeding | 1. Limit the speed of all non-emergency/ non-law enforcement vehicle as follows — 4 wheelers and above (60km/hour); 3 wheelers and below (40km/hour) 2. Loud speed-warning beep inside the vehicle alerting the rider that they are over the designated speed limit | 1. Over speeding, which is the #1 cause of deaths in road accidents is immediately brought under control 2. Emergency and Law enforcement vehicles gain a much required advantage 3. Usage of horn is reduced as speeding is reduced |
| Unnecessary use of loud horn | 1. Reduce the maximum sound output of horn to 75dB 2. Restrict the flow of sound waves to a small area in front of the vehicle 3. To discourage use, sound of horn should play equally loud inside the vehicle 4. Enable auto-disabling of the horn for X seconds or loud voice prompts with frequent usage 5. Disable the horn at speeds less than 20 km/hour 6. Install tamper proof horns to curtain after-market modifications (almost all transport and commercial vehicles are fitted with loud after-market air horns) | 1. Reduction in noise pollution both on the road and for those living and working by busy roads 2. No more honking by impatient riders at red lights |
| Driving while on the phone | 1. Unless both hands are on the vehicle (more so for 2-wheelers), acceleration should be disabled | 1. Will ensure that riders ride with both hands on the vehicles and should they want to speak on the phone, they either use a hands-free or stop the vehicle and talk |
| Frequent lane changing, Stopping the vehicle at Zebra Crossing, Passing signal while Red | 1. These concerns can be easily addressed by use of simple motion sensors and front cameras 2. Suitable voice prompts can be enabled if the sensors, cameras detect that the vehicles is engaging in frequent lane changing (zig-zag pattern), or has stopped the vehicle at a zebra crossing, or has started the vehicle while the signal is still at Red | 1. Will discourage these harmful practises and force the riders to drive their vehicles in a disciplined, responsible and safe manner |
| Automatic High Beam control system | 1. Bosch mobility solutions, by Robert Bosch GmbH, has developed an automatic high beam control system that utilizes a camera to measure the ambient brightness in order to estimate the distance of the vehicles in front and oncoming traffic. This data is fed to an electric control unit and used to further operate a variety of automatic headlight functions such as headlight vertical or horizontal adjustments | 1. The automatic high beam control system in conjunction with adaptive front lighting system enhances the distribution of light from the headlights according to vehicle speed and steering input, thereby enhancing the field of vision. This, in turn, helps the driver detect prominent objects or obstacles in the path of the vehicle and avoid collision |