Vehicle-to-vehicle communication between cars will soon become a reality: Nitin Gadkari

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will soon make it mandatory to install vehicle-to-vehicle communication equipment in all new cars to enable real-time exchange of information between vehicles to prevent road accidents and fatalities.As part of this, on-board units will be installed in cars for wireless data exchange between vehicles.

The telecommunications ministry has approved in principle the use of 30 MHz spectrum for enabling V-2-V communications, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

“This could prevent accidents by providing early warning to drivers and spotting vehicles in blind spots,” Gadkari said.The roads ministry has set a target to reduce the number of road deaths in the country by 50% by 2030.

According to ministry data, over five lakh road accidents have occurred in the country in 2023, with over 1.8 lakh deaths.

Gadkari briefed the media after a two-day meeting of top ministry officials with transport ministers and secretaries of 28 states and union territories on Wednesday and Thursday. The meeting debated about a dozen issues that impact road safety and the commuting experience.

These include the success of the cashless treatment pilot program, improved compensation for collision victims, changes to the Motor Vehicle Act, and the No Fatality Districts program.

According to Gadkari, some of the proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, which are likely to be passed in the upcoming budget session of Parliament, include increasing ease of doing business, improved regulation, mobility and emission regulations, and harmonizing them with global standards.

Talking about the three fatal bus accidents in the recent past that claimed over 145 lives, Gadkari said the ministry has directed that sleeper coaches will henceforth be manufactured only by car companies and accreditation of bus facilities will be done by the central government.

Furthermore, existing buses will be retrofitted with fire detection systems, emergency exits with hammers, emergency lights and driver drowsiness indicators to prevent such incidents in the future.

Under the ‘zero fatalities district’ programme, the road ministry, along with Save Life Foundation, has identified the top 100 districts in India with the highest number of road fatalities and will undertake targeted interventions to make these districts ‘zero fatalities’.