New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed incorporating a built-in ‘moving off information system’ (MOIS) in a specific category of four-wheel passenger and commercial vehicles. The aim is to diminish the risk of collisions with pedestrians and cyclists in close proximity.
In a draft titled ‘Approval of Motor Vehicles with Regard to the Moving Off Information System for the Detection of Pedestrians and Cyclists,’ MoRTH outlined the industry standard for MOIS. The specifics will be announced following public consultation.
MOIS refers to a system designed to identify and alert the driver to the presence of pedestrians and cyclists nearby. Additionally, if necessary according to the manufacturer’s strategy, it may warn the driver of a potential collision.
The draft report said, “Low-speed moving off from rest manoeuvres that involve collisions between M2, M3, N2 and N3 vehicle category vehicles (subject vehicles) and pedestrians and cyclists have serious consequences for these vulnerable road users (VRUs).”
In the past, attempts to enhance Vulnerable Road User (VRU) safety involved increasing the number of mirrors for better visibility.
The report added, “Since collisions with these characteristics still occur and advanced driver assistance systems have been introduced in a lot of vehicle segments, it is obvious to use such assistance systems for avoiding accidents between subject vehicles and VRUs.”
A Vulnerable Road User (VRU) is defined as an adult or child pedestrian or an adult or child cyclist. The term ‘Collision Warning Signal’ refers to a signal emitted by the MOIS to alert the vehicle driver when a potential frontal collision with a VRU in close proximity to the front of the vehicle is detected.
“Therefore, this standard requires the activation of a proximity information signal in case pedestrians or cyclists enter the critical blind spot area in front of the vehicle, should the subject vehicle either be preparing to move off from rest in a straight line or be travelling straight ahead at low-speeds,” according to MoRTH.
The road ministry’s proposal is significant in light of a 12% increase in road accidents in India in 2022, resulting in over 4.6 lakh accidents and 19 deaths per hour. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari aims to halve the number of accidents and resulting deaths by 2024.
The largest share of accident deaths in 2022 was attributed to ‘Hit from Back’ (19.5%), followed by ‘Hit and Run’ (18.1%) and ‘Head-on Collision’ (15.7%).
