V2V communication: Vehicles will communicate with each other on the road, reducing accidents! What is the government planning to do?

What if your car on the road talked to my car? Our cars and yours talked to the lorries and trucks on the highway! All the vehicles on the expressway talked to each other! It might seem a bit strange to think about, but if it happened, do you know what the biggest benefit would be? Road accidents would decrease. Just as you and I, when we see each other and talk to each other while walking on the road, we avoid collisions. Similarly, if vehicles also talked to each other, accidents would decrease. You might think we're just talking all this out of thin air, but that's not true.

In fact, the government is working on introducing V2V communication technology, or vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology, to curb road accidents. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced this on Thursday. Approval for this has been received from the Department of Telecommunications.

How will vehicles talk to each other?

Union Minister Gadkari stated that to curb road accidents, the central government is working on vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology, which will allow vehicles to communicate directly with each other. This will alert the driver of a car, truck, or other vehicle about other vehicles nearby.

This will provide real-time alerts regarding the speed, position, acceleration, and braking of surrounding vehicles. Furthermore, real-time alerts will also be provided regarding vehicles in areas that are suddenly obscured due to fog or other reasons.

How will road accidents be reduced?

Receiving such alerts will enable drivers to take timely action and reduce the risk of accidents. For example, upon receiving an alert about a vehicle approaching at high speed from behind, drivers will be able to pull over. Similarly, upon receiving an alert about a vehicle parked on the road in fog, drivers will be able to slow down and avoid the accident.

How far has work progressed in this direction?

Nitin Gadkari stated, "A joint task force has been formed with the Department of Telecommunications to introduce V2V communication technology to curb road accidents. The Department of Telecommunications has given in-principle approval for the use of 30 MHz spectrum (5.875-5.905 GHz) for V2V communication."

Gadkari stated after the annual meeting of transport ministers of states and union territories that the government is working to reduce road accident deaths by improving road engineering, strictly enforcing laws, and increasing penalties for traffic violations.

The meeting discussed key issues related to road safety, passenger and public convenience, ease of doing business, and vehicle regulations.

Around 500,000 road accidents every year
The Union Minister stated that around 500,000 road accidents occur in the country every year, claiming approximately 1.8 lakh lives. Approximately 66 percent of these deaths occur among people aged 18 to 34.

Gadkari also announced that the government is preparing to introduce amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act in the upcoming budget session. The proposed 61 amendments aim to improve road safety, promote ease of doing business, enhance civic services, improve mobility, simplify definitions and language, and harmonize laws with global standards.

Issues such as improved safety standards for buses, sleeper coaches, and passenger vehicles, bus body codes, BNCAP safety ratings, and the phased implementation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) were also discussed. The meeting also discussed proposals to introduce a points-based system for monitoring traffic violations and to issue digital and automated permits for all freight vehicles up to a certain vehicle weight.

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