With Highest Number Of Road Fatalities In The World, India To Mandate Advanced Driver Assistance Systems For Vehicles

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) will be mandatory in future, Times of India has reported. The deadline for implementation is likely to be 2022.

ADAS includes electronic stability control (ESC), autonomous emergency braking system, anti-lock brakes, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control. ADAS can also have features to detect driver drowsiness and a blind spot monitor. Cars and heavy vehicles like trucks and buses will come under the purview of this regulation.

ESC helps in preventing the vehicle from losing traction while on road. Autonomous emergency braking system detects objects in its vicinity and applies brakes to maintain a minimum gap between the vehicle and objects.

A ministry official who spoke to Times of India said that one round of consultations with stakeholders had been conducted. Further, he added that the feature will be mandatory in developed nations and, therefore, India is also advancing its plan to bring in the regulation.

India loses close to 2 lakh lives annually in road accidents. The figure is highest in the world and, therefore, ADAS-like systems could prevent accidents caused by human error. As per annual road accident report prepared by the government, human error causes 80 per cent of accidents.