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NHAI to soon issue safety alerts via messages, calls; signs MoU with Jio
The alerts will inform commuters about accident-prone stretches, stray cattle zones, fog and poor visibility patches, congestion, road repairs, diversions and other hazards in advance.
Highway users will soon start receiving real-time safety alerts through SMS, WhatsApp messages and high-priority voice calls as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) rolls out a telecom-integrated warning system aimed at reducing crashes across national highways.
The NHAI on Tuesday announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Reliance Jio for the same, and soon similar exercises will follow with other telecom service providers so that the system eventually caters to all highway users regardless of their mobile network. The goal is to create a unified, telecom-agnostic safety layer across the country’s expanding expressway and highway network.
The alerts will inform commuters about accident-prone stretches, stray cattle zones, fog and poor visibility patches, congestion, road repairs, diversions and other hazards in advance. The system will also plug into NHAI’s Rajmargyatra mobile app and the 1033 emergency helpline, streamlining how drivers receive verified information during critical moments, the NHAI said.
With the system riding entirely on existing telecom towers, it can be deployed at scale rapidly without the need for additional roadside infrastructure.
NHAI said the initial pilot deployment of the initiative will support risk-zone identification and alert thresholds under a few regional offices in NHAI. The initiative will fully comply with all applicable regulatory provisions and data-protection requirements, the statement said.
