Adoption & advancement of ADAS is the answer to save lives on the roads

The recent death of Cyrus Mistry in a road accident is extremely tragic and sad. Years ago, one of my family members had a road traffic accident that really shook me personally. Today, as I look at how we can use technology to improve the lives of people, I feel that it is barely scratching the surface towards enabling collision avoidance. Road safety is a key challenge that my team and I are addressing.?

According to a World Bank report , India has only 1% of the world’s vehicles, but accounts for a disproportionately high 11% of deaths due to road accidents. This is more than a statistic that we need to change. It’s lives and livelihoods lost, which can be prevented.

I look at road safety in terms of these 3 aspects:

• Safe vehicles
• Safe road infrastructure
• And last but not the least, safe driving practices

And, I believe technology has the power to enable all three aspects of road safety.

The power of technology to save lives and livelihoods

I wrote in another blog that the future of automobiles is electric, autonomous and connected. We still have miles to go to reach the fully autonomous future, but ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) technology is available here and now.

According to research, 80% of rear end collisions can be avoided if a warning is given to the driver 2 seconds before impact. Studies show that 6 out of 10 accidents on Indian roads are preventable with timely driver interventions.

ADAS can help prevent most accidents, and even when an accident cannot be avoided, it can help reduce the severity and injury caused by an accident. The combination of sensors like cameras, radar/LiDAR and ultrasound, which capture the environment outside the vehicle in real-time, with processing power that enables actionable insights based on these inputs, provides several applications. In fact, ADAS can not only perceive the vehicle’s surroundings, but also connect it to other vehicles and infrastructure to provide a bigger picture analysis.

ADAS features range from small conveniences like parking assistance to life-saving applications like collision avoidance. These include:

• Recognition of traffic signs
• Warnings for lane-keeping
• Detection of people and animals on the road
• Automatic emergency braking, etc.

The smart and intelligent capabilities like collision avoidance systems in a car alerts the driver when the vehicle is getting close to another vehicle in front of it, adaptive cruise control tech can automatically slow down to maintain the vehicle's pre-set speed and a safe gap, cameras track the vehicle within the lane and alert the driver if the vehicle is in danger and using computer vision for iris tracking, in-car sensing technology can detect the driver’s drowsiness and inattentiveness in real time.

The need for adoption and advancement of ADAS

In the case of the fatal crash involving Cyrus Mistry, news reports say that it took place in an accident-prone area where the road narrows from three lanes to two lanes near a bridge. This is what we would call a ‘black spot’ and it’s a perfect example of an instance when ADAS technology would provide the driver with a warning in the precious seconds before impact.?

With ADAS on board, a driver heading towards a collision would receive a warning, potentially saving lives and removing the heavy toll of human error. Deployed at scale, it can leverage and further enhance mapping of accident-prone areas or grey spots, as we call them, equipping civic authorities to tackle the road infrastructure aspect.

ADAS can encourage and even enforce safe driving behavior, by providing warnings for passengers not wearing their seatbelts, or simply not allowing the vehicle to start until all aboard are safely strapped in.

We know from crash statistics that most road accidents occur not in city limits, but rather on the highways, while traversing long distances. These technologies should not be thought of as a nice-to-have for premium cars, but increasingly a necessity for public and private fleets, be it for transportation of people or goods. In fact, ADAS solutions are not only for next-gen vehicles but can be retrofitted into current vehicles. These solutions are available in a safety-as-a-service model that provides driver assistance, fleet monitoring, and ultimately, ensures safety on the roads.

I often say, technology is the cheapest solution that can save lives and solve population-scale problems. It’s certainly true for the problem of road safety and I look forward to seeing the adoption and advancement of ADAS technologies towards this end.