Experts Advocate Cutting-Edge Technologies to Address India’s Road Safety Issues at ITS India Forum Round-Table
On July 16, ITS India Forum organized a successful Round Table Conference to “Kick off the suggestions of the Comprehensive National ITS Policy” and “Brainstorm Solutions for Safer, Smarter, and Cost-Effective Mobility in India” with Industry experts, IITs and policymakers from different Ministries. This event brought together major stakeholders from the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), infrastructure industries, academia, and policymakers.
Over 200 global experts attended the conference and discussed how India can leverage rapidly growing AI, ML, IoT, Sensors, ADAS, 5G, CV2X, Cloud Computing, etc., to solve transportation problems & optimize them quickly.
ITS India Forum is a non-profit Think Tank comprised of experts from diverse industries, academia, and policymakers. It also collaborates with various global ITS forums to promote research, innovation, emerging standards, and best practices suitable to India.
Mr. Akhilesh Srivastava, President of the ITS India Forum, highlighted that irresponsible driving behavior is the major cause of accidents. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways data, over 80% of accidents and fatalities occur because of irresponsible driving behavior triggered by road and vehicular issues. He said behaviour cannot be entirely changed through advocacy or fear of punishment. Even a single instance of reckless driving can endanger many lives, as the road is a shared space. This is why the ITS India Forum advocates for implementing foolproof, technology-driven solutions that can compensate for human mistakes and save thousands of lives.
Honourable Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Shri Nitin Gadkari, is very serious about road safety and always encourages the initiatives to adopt the latest technologies to improve road safety and shape the Future of Mobility in India. His support and vision for a technologically advanced and safe transportation system are truly inspiring.
Emerging technologies such as Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (CV2X), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Internet of Things (IoT) based Safe Driving Scores (SDS), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have the potential to significantly reduce fatalities. These technologies can provide advanced alerts to drivers and actionable insights to enforcement agencies and road operators, effectively reducing road accidents to near zero.
Experts said India is an extensive and diverse country with a large population and uniqueness. Mere copy-paste solutions from Western countries will fail. We need India-specific technology-driven solutions to control road traffic. It’s futile to let manual systems govern & prevent it as despite strict laws, road accidents continue to escalate, primarily due to human errors, overspeeding, and reckless driving. By leveraging these technological advancements, we can create a safer and smarter mobility ecosystem in India.
Over 200 experts attended the hybrid event. Key speakers included Mr. Sudhendu J Sinha, Advisor Transport Niti Aayog; Mr. B N Puri, Former Principal Advisor Transport Niti Aayog; three Deputy Director Generals from the Ministry of Telecom on Mobile Tech and IoT; Ex-Member NHAI and MoRTH Advisor Mr. R K Pandey; Profs from IITs; and industry leaders like Qualcomm, Nokia, Danlaw, Dell, Hitachi, Sparsh, Asbee, Netradyne, Metro, AMNEX, SWARCO, civil societies & associations NHBF, Highway Operator Associations, and AIMTC.
Key speakers included Mr. Sudhendu J Sinha, Advisor Transport Niti Aayog; Mr. B N Puri, Former Principal Advisor Transport Niti Aayog; Deputy Director Generals from the Ministry of Telecom; Ex-Member NHAI; Profs from IITs; and top industry players like Qualcomm, Danlaw, Nokia, Dell, Hitachi, Sparsh, Asbee, Metro, Netradyne, AMNEX, Awarco, NHBF, and Highway Operator Associations and SIAM.
The ITS India Forum’s goal extends beyond road safety. It is dedicated to advancing the development and implementation of intelligent transportation systems to enhance the safety, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of the transportation ecosystem in India in line with the vision of Vikshit Bharat@2047. The forum aims to drive innovation and transform the Future of Mobility in India through collaboration with industry leaders, academia, and policymakers.
-Promote regional connectivity in the era of digitalized-based transport
-Encourage the development of inclusive transport facilities
-Prioritize the integration of different transport modes
-Encourage partnerships and commitments to scale up
-Explore creative financing mechanisms involving multiple stakeholders
-Improve the regulatory framework to support public-private partnerships
-Innovative Monitoring and evaluation processes
-Capacity building of human resources through sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices.
ITS in India declared it would create mass awareness about ITS solutions and launch world-class M. Tech and MBA programs in ITS in collaboration with the world’s best universities.
The successful workshop served as a unique platform for diverse stakeholders to discuss and explore integrating intelligent technologies into transportation infrastructure to Reshape the Future of Mobility in India by creating a safer, sustainable, and cost-effective transportation system.
Website: https://www.itsindiaforum.com/