UP Buses Get AI-Based Tech Upgrade To Deal With Accidents

Anti-collision devices are being tested out by the Uttar Pradesh government on state transport buses, with an aim to lower the high accident rates.

AI-based equipment has been attached to six buses running along the Lucknow-Gorakhpur and Lucknow-New Delhi routes. This equipment will send alerts to drivers so that they could avoid collisions.

If everything goes according to plan, 12,500 buses will later take part in the operation. Whenever drivers fell asleep while driving or over-speed, they will receive warnings from the sensor technology. The drivers will also be alerted if their vehicles come too close to other vehicles.

Until now, among six buses of the project, no accident has happened. The sensor, placed at the front of the vehicle, continuously monitors objects within the 180-feet range and alerts drivers by sending a beep sound whenever there is a possibility of a collision.

Near the steering wheel is another sensor that warns the driver if they fell asleep or over-speed. On condition that the drivers chose to ignore the beeping alert, the AI will apply the breaks automatically.

The sensor will only alert and assist drivers when the vehicle moves past 40km/hour. Breaks won’t be automatically applied and the alarm won’t set off if the speed is under 40km/hour.

Managing Director of Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corp, Raj Shekhar, said:

An official report suggested that since the opening of the 165-km-long Yamuna Expressway in 2012, there have been about 5,000 accidents with over 700 deaths and more than 7,600 injuries.

In July 2019, after a state-run bus deploying along the Lucknow-Delhi rout crashed into a large drain, 18 people were injured while 29 were killed.