Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) is collaborating with Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India Pvt Ltd (RNTBCI) to reduce road accidents fatalities in Chennai and neighbouring districts through two projects. This initiative is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). An MoU for this was signed on Saturday.

The Connected Intelligent Urban Transportation lab at IIT Madras will develop innovative, technology and data-driven solutions to improve road safety, says a press release from the institute.

Kapil Saratkar, Additional Commissioner of Police, Chennai City Traffic Police, at the event said that around 4,500 traffic police are deployed by Tamil Nadu Police to manage the traffic in the city. However, there is a manpower shortage and these policemen have to face several difficulties in managing the traffic in the city. The Police Department requests the students of IIT Madras to provide simple and innovative solutions to address the problems faced by the department in managing the traffic in the city.

A year-long hackathon named ‘Hackcidents’ will be conducted and the best ideas on Road Safety and Accident Prevention will be implemented. Centre For Innovation, a voluntary student body at IIT Madras, will conduct the hackathon, the release said.

Among the fatal accidents in Chennai in 2019, over 10 per cent were caused by buses. This is twice the number reported across the country. Over 80 fatalities involved public transit buses in 2019. Further, close to 100 accidents resulted in grievous injuries. Besides the burden on the public transit agency in the form of a high pay out against claims, these accidents have large social costs.

The project’s aim is to improve public safety with a particular focus on reducing fatal accidents involving public transit buses in Chennai. The project proposes the use of sensors and data collection techniques for better understanding the root causes leading to bus accidents and propose innovative ways to significantly reduce them, the release said.