“SMART SPEED WARNING SYSTEM” to save lives on Roads

Researchers at different Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) including IIT Guwahati and Bombay are working on development of a first-of-its kind “smart speed warning system” for vehicles which will alert the driver based on road infrastructure and geographical location to avoid over-speeding related crashes. The researchers, who are in process of filing a patent for the system, claim that such a system is not available anywhere across the globe.

According to statistics available with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, about 70 per cent of road fatalities in India occur due to over-speeding. To minimise such fatalities, the government had mandated that all new cars sold from July 1, 2019, should include a speed governor device that will generate intermittent warning beeps for above 80 kmph and the constant beep for above 120 kmph for drivers. But that did not work.