Govt To Unveil Real-Time National Highway Accident Data Through Electronic Detailed Accident Report Mobile Apps

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is set to release black spot data for 2023 and 2024 based on its Electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR)/Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) system, which compiles real-time accident information entered by state police, the Indian Express reported.

Black spots on National Highways (NHs) are defined as 500-metre stretches where five or more accidents causing deaths or grievous injuries, or 10 fatalities, occur within three years.

These stretches are crucial for road safety planning and accident prevention.

A senior MoRTH official said that until now, black spot data was available only up to 2022, limiting efforts to design targeted interventions.

“The black spot data for 2023 and 2024 has been worked out based on the e-DAR/iRAD system and will be released soon,” the official said.

The iRAD/e-DAR system was rolled out in 2021–22 across states to enable real-time accident reporting and geotagging through mobile apps used by police and first responders.

The Transport Research Wing (TRW) of MoRTH collects and validates this data before assigning official black spot numbers. The previous series for 2020–22 identified 1,330 critical stretches.

According to MoRTH data, 13,795 black spots were identified between 2016 and 2022, with long-term rectification completed on 5,036. “The discrepancies between the data received by TRW from states/UTs and the e-DAR portal have been reduced to less than 5 per cent. We held several meetings with state departments to fix reporting on e-DAR, and most of the issues have been resolved,” the official added.

For 2024, TRW recorded 18,069 more accidents (3.96 per cent) and 7,020 more fatalities (4.30 per cent) than e-DAR data, with Punjab showing the widest gap.

Efforts are ongoing to align state police records with e-DAR to ensure accuracy in road safety planning.

Coming at a time when potholes on roads have become a political issue, especially in cities like Bengaluru, the move assumes significance. Like the government, private players have also tried to come up with solutions.

In August this year, as part of its rider safety upgrades, electric two-wheelers maker, Ather Energy, unveiled a 'Pothole Alerts' feature, designed to proactively warn riders about rough road patches or potholes and recommend safer alternate routes.

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