• Mon. Dec 2nd, 2024

ET Road Safety & Safer Mobility Forum 2024: Driving change through tech-enabled solutions and industry collaboration

ET Road Safety & Safer Mobility Forum 2024: Driving change through tech-enabled solutions and industry collaboration
In logistics and supply chains, safety is non-negotiable. A single lapse—whether a faulty vehicle, a negligent driver, or a compromised fleet—can unleash a ticking time bomb on our roads. Safety is not just a priority; it steers human lives and thriving businesses. India’s demographic dividend, rapid urbanisation, and rise in disposable income levels, along with the concomitant rise in e-commerce have contributed to a surge in demand for goods and services. However, the relentless push for “we delivered before time” in the digital commerce era demands immediate action, especially in India where paradoxes prevail.

Sample this: India boasts the second largest road network in the world, with about 63.32 lakh km of roads as of March 2019, according to a statement by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways. Since March 2014, India’s National Highway (NH) network has expanded from 91,287 km to 1,46,145 km, a 1.6-fold increase, according to data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, , a 1.6-fold increase, according to data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). This increased focus on the development of high-speed access-controlled corridors and four-lane road networks is underpinned by the Government of India’s priority to boost the economy of the country through improved logistics efficiency. In fact, 25 Greenfield high-speed corridors have been envisaged for development under ‘Bharatmala Pariyojana’, including Expressways.

And yet in 2022, India bore witness to a staggering 461,312 road accidents, claiming 168,491 lives, according to the 2022 MoRTH report titled ‘Road Accidents in India – 2022’. The report showed that 53 road accidents take place every hour in the country, resulting in the death of 19 persons every hour. These are not mere statistics but stories of shattered families, broken dreams, and futures that were cut short, often spiralling a vicious cycle of disability, unemployment, and mental health challenges.

In the Mumbai edition of a riveting roundtable discussion titled ‘The Safety Circuit: Enhancing Safety Standards in Modern Logistics and Supply Chains’, speakers Shivkumar Balasubramanian, Sr. Director – India Business at Netradyne; Rajeev Mehta, Senior President & Chief Logistics Officer at UltraTech Cement; Tejal Tyagi, Senior Director of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) for the AMESA Sector at PepsiCo; Venkat Venepally, VP Supply Chain at Mondelez India Foods, and Arpit Raj, Head of Logistics and Customer Service at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, gathered to address the critical intersection of safety challenges in logistics and supply chains, sharing insights into the pressing issue of road safety in India. Organised by The Economic Times and powered by Netradyne as part of the ET Road Safety and Safer Mobility Forum initiative, the roundtable was moderated by Miloni Bhatt.

Watch the full video
Shivkumar Balasubramanian, Senior Director at Netradyne, opened the discussion by highlighting the paradox of India’s modern infrastructure juxtaposed with its grim road safety record. He reminisced about a time when Indians would be mesmerised by the roads, infrastructure, and lighting in developed countries. Balasubramanian asserted that this story has changed today with some exceptional roads in India. Case in point: The Atal Setu (Mumbai Trans Harbour Link) or the 800-km Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway. And, yet people are dying. Why? To answer this question, one needs to go to the root of the issue.

Balasubramanian explained that companies analyse the roads, the lighting conditions, the tyre technology, the brakes, and so many other factors that contribute to everyday mobility and transportation. “But how do you analyse driving behaviour?,” asked the Senior Director at Netradyne, an AI-powered company that pioneers next-generation safety solutions focusing primarily on commercial vehicles, including buses, trucks, and smaller vehicles. AI, the game changer
“It’s a subject never thought of before. AI has to come in because we need to note down, recall, and analyse miles after miles, using facial recognition and driving patterns,” elucidated Balasubramanian. Today, Netradyne houses “13 billion miles of data.”

Based on the data, the vision-driven driver assistance tech company can understand the pattern and analyse, perfect, and constantly improve the feedback they give to corporations operating large fleets of thousands of trucks and buses on the roads. “We hope that the insights we have gleaned over time can be of use to India, saving lives, and supporting families whose near and dear ones—often the only breadwinners—are driving on the road,” said Balasubramanian.

Driving is not aspirational in India. The salaries are low, the working hours are extremely rigorous, you’re never at home, always travelling, and your health suffers. You have backaches, severe sleep deprivation, and mental issues, so nobody wants their child to become a driver, stressed Balasubramanian, tying facets of socioeconomic inequalities of India to the safety conversation.

Challenges in driver training

Rajeev Mehta, Senior President and Chief Logistics Officer at UltraTech Cement, emphasised the dual importance of functional and behavioural competence in road safety.

Per the 2022 Niti Aayog report titled ‘Transforming Trucking in India – Pathways to Zero-Emission Truck Deployment’, the number of trucks is projected to more than quadruple from 4 million in 2022 to approximately 17 million by 2050. Needless to say, the country needs trained drivers. Mehta asked: How many driver’s training schools are there?

Mehta also underscored the need for regular behavioural corrections. He emphasised the need for collective efforts of industries to correct these deficiencies and contribute towards a safer environment. The importance of continuous training was echoed by others, highlighting that a one-time effort is hardly enough for lasting changes.

The burden on public safety
Tejal Tyagi, Senior Director of Environment, Health, and Safety for AMESA Sector at PepsiCo, pointed out the broader systemic issues. According to the 2023 World Health Organisation report titled ‘Road Traffic Injuries,’ 92% of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low- and middle-income countries. What is also disheartening is the fact that more than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Hence, safety is pertinent across all checkpoints of the transportation and mobility landscape.

Tyagi explained that in low- and middle-income countries like India, the biggest challenge lies in the “external environment” that impacts everyone, whether it’s an employee of an organisation, any third-party logistics service provider, or most importantly, a member of the public. “In our country, the biggest challenge is the external environment with respect to the kind of infrastructure we have,” Tyagi elaborated. Law enforcement continues to be another challenging realm. “So, we do have laws, but how do we better enforce them so that people are not just wearing helmets to avoid fines? But they are really doing it by heart,” he explained, lamenting a lack of mandate in terms of driver training.

The profession of driving: A site of societal prejudices

Venkat Venepally, VP of Supply Chain at Mondelez India Foods, noted the need for more professional recognition for drivers. “Drivers as a profession are not organised. Well, I think they’re not trained before they actually become a driver. And because the profession doesn’t get the respect it is meant for, a lot of people don’t spend the effort and time to become real professional drivers.”

Additionally, a culture of safety is also lacking, Venepally rued.

He explained that if we club these two factors together, “we are almost putting a ticking time bomb on the road every second.”

The human element: From punitive measures to a system of incentivisation

Seconding Venepally, Arpit Raj, Head of Logistics and Customer Service at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, too highlighted the need for a comprehensive approach to safety. Raj highlighted the issue of compliance and road infrastructure, stating that the missing piece in safety is the human factor.

Talking about fleet safety management, Raj explained that there has been little to no development or categorisation in terms of the types of drivers that have come into a particular premise to pick up the trucks. “What is his experience? Is there any accurate evaluation that he has done? What types of vehicles are easier for passengers or commercial vehicles? I think categorisation is important,” Raj explained.

Indeed, the consensus among the speakers was clear: the human factor is the most critical element in road safety. Continuous training, both functional and behavioural, is essential. As Mehta pointed out, “We need to understand why behaviours like harsh braking occur and correct them. People are generally receptive to change when they understand its importance.”

Continue to invest in changing driver behaviour
Venepally shared his company’s efforts to recognise and celebrate drivers who adhere to safety protocols, directing the course of the conversation to an important paradigm.

Venepally continued. “We have a mix of both leased and dedicated vehicles. And you can see the stark difference in the behavioural aspects in both spaces. In dedicated vehicles, even if they are not technically employees of Mondelez, they are definitely treated like employees, not just in terms of benefits, but also in terms of being part of our value chain.” Mondelez is currently running a programme to encourage, incentivise, and award drivers in their network who exhibit good driving behaviour.

Safety, an all-encompassing approach

Start by delving into the vendor selection process putting safety as non-negotiable.

Raj offered a critical insight that looking at safety simply from the road safety point of view might limit the overall approach. Illustrating the process of ensuring safety at every turn of the logistics and supply chain system, he highlighted how safety screening should start at the factory and end at the consumer point, emphasised throughout the process through functional and behavioural training.

“For example, if we have a transport management system that tells you the optimum route to serve a customer, it can also tell you how to load the truck so that the boxes come out in one piece and do not create a safety hazard at the unloading point. How do you go about doing that to take care of any jerks during transit? Technologies are available, but if only dealt with from a safety point of view, they might not be effective,” Raj surmised.

Barriers to tech adoption
Collectively, the speakers dissected some of the challenges that continue to act as barriers to the adoption of new technologies:

  • The technology paradox: Illustrating how technology can optimise driver performance, Balasubramanian explained, “Our device understands driver behaviour and assigns the safest routes to the most skilled drivers”. However, he acknowledged the unique challenges faced in India, where infrastructure and cultural differences often hinder the effective implementation of these technologies.

Balasubramanian recounted a customer’s frustration when the technology, designed to prevent collisions, failed to account for oncoming traffic on Indian roads. “In countries with proper lanes, our devices alert drivers when they veer off course. But in India, where lanes are often non-existent, these alerts can be meaningless.”

  • Bridging the knowledge gap: Tejal Tyagi expanded on the barriers to adopting AI technology, emphasising the significant knowledge gap. “People are still not aware of how beneficial AI can be, not just for safety but also for operational efficiency,” Tyagi said, calling for more investment in training and bridging this knowledge gap, and highlighting the need for a shared technology platform accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises.
  • The cost conundrum: Cost remains a major deterrent to the adoption of safety technologies. Mehta pointed out that while initial costs are high, collaboration within the industry could drive down prices. “The industry needs to collaborate with technology providers to create economical and effective solutions,” he asserted.

Balasubramanian drew a parallel to the early days of mobile technology in India. “When mobile phones first came to India, incoming calls cost 16 rupees per minute. Today, calls are virtually free. We are still at the early stages with safety technology, but costs will eventually come down.”

  • Standardisation and compliance: The discussion pivoted to yet another critical leg: that of standardisation of safety norms across diverse industries. Venepally underscored the need for partnership with government bodies to establish these norms. “In developed countries, there are strict rules about driving hours, enforced rigorously. We need similar norms here, anchored by the government.”

Mehta added that a “common minimum programme,” developed collaboratively by the industry and the government, is essential for setting these standards. “Cross-functional, cross-industry collaboration is key to deciding what our common minimum programme should be and what our asks from the government should be.”

  • Changing driver perception: The panellists also discussed the resistance from drivers towards safety technologies. Balasubramanian noted that in developed countries, truck owners are often the drivers themselves, which fosters a sense of ownership. In India, however, there is a disconnect. “Drivers see technology as an intrusion. They don’t understand that it’s for their benefit,” he said.

Tyagi echoed this sentiment, emphasising the importance of communication and training. “We need to coach drivers and show them that this technology is there to help them drive safely, not to monitor them.”

Arpit Raj highlighted the role of government intervention in improving road safety and humanising the mechanical, taxing task of navigating labyrinthine Indian roads. “We need better road infrastructure, more stop points for drivers to rest, and mandatory safety features in commercial vehicles,” he said.

Talking about an often ignored aspect of accidents was Tyagi, who recommended providing quality and timely post-accident care, a critical area where the government can play a significant role. “How quickly we can provide ambulance services and trauma care is crucial in reducing fatalities,” Tyagi emphasised.

Clearly, the collective voice of the industry experts at the roundtable painted a comprehensive picture of the multifaceted approach needed to address road safety. Venepally summed it up succinctly: “We need to move from punishing drivers to rewarding them for safe behaviour. It’s a journey that requires time, training, and a shift in mindset.” The speakers emphasised prioritising continuous training, embracing technological advancements, and raising public awareness through road safety campaigns, unravelling the interconnectedness of these elements in creating a safer road environment.

Netradyne’s role in this ecosystem, particularly in harnessing AI to monitor and improve driver behaviour, showcases how cutting-edge technology can be a powerful ally in this mission. The insights shared during the discussion revealed the importance of collaboration among various stakeholders, from corporations to government bodies, in driving meaningful change.

As India continues to grow and urbanise, addressing the challenges of road safety becomes even more critical. Furthermore, if India is to achieve the agenda of reducing the number of road accidents or fatalities to half by 2025, the country needs affirmative action and work towards a future where its roads are not just pathways for commerce but also safe spaces for all its citizens.

Watch the full video here.

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