Drones to monitor traffic and prevent mishaps on Mumbai-Pune e-way

In an effort to detect and eliminate major risk factors leading to crashes along the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC),

In an effort to detect and eliminate major risk factors leading to crashes along the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), Maharashtra State Highway Police and the non-governmental organisation Save Life Foundation (SLF) will deploy drones on the expressway in another six to eight weeks. MSRDC along with SLF and the highway police is working towards making the expressway a zero-fatality corridor by 2021.

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Soon, two drones will be deployed at a 30-40 kilometre chainage from Pune towards Mumbai. This stretch has been identified owing to the high number of fatalities on it since 2016. Piyush Tewari, founder of SLF, said, “The main objective of the drones is to monitor parked vehicles, which is a major contributing factor for fatal crashes on the expressway.”

He said the drones would be monitored by patrolling vehicles that will also alert drivers of stationed vehicles. Along with drones, MSRDC is also looking at introducing an intelligent traffic management system and advanced intimation system for hospitals in case of fatalities.

According to a report released by SLF on Monday, 28.2% of the crashes in 2019 were due to collisions with parked vehicles. The two highest contributing factors to crashes on the expressway were speeding (43.5%) and lane-cutting (38.4%). More than three-fourths of the total injuries on the expressway in 2018 and 2019 were as a result of not wearing seat-belts.

Radheshyam Mopalwar, vice chairman and managing director, MSRDC, said, “Every death on the expressway is a matter of grave concern for us. We will not rest till we get to zero preventable deaths on this crucial link between Mumbai and Pune.”