Can Technology help in preventing road accidents?

Last week I had met with a minor accident. A two wheeler had crossed the road where it shouldn't and I was going faster than I should have. Luckily with only minor injuries, we both parted ways

In India, the statistics shows 11 Lakh people have been killed and 48 Lakh people have been injured between 2002 to 2011 in road accidents. The graph shows the rising year on year trend of the reported accidents

We need to understand why road accidents occur in order to prevent it. Broadly, it could be due to lack of training, lack of skills, negligence, road engineering issues, etc

So far, we have tried to prevent it through deterrents such laws, policing, increasing fines, etc. As the above data shows, we cannot solely depend on just deterrents

In all these accidents, there is a human error which caused the accident irrespective of the cause - the cause could be bad roads, road engineering issues, misjudgement; however ultimately a human judged incorrectly and lost control

If we can remove the human factor in driving, then we would have a more predictable and safe journey. Imagine the day when your car will be connected to a central GPS traffic navigator which controls and routes not only your vehicle but also other vehicles including the traffic signals

All you need to do is enter the destination, preferred route, preferred time of arrival and sit back & relax. Your car will navigate and take you safely to your destination. In fact this way, you are more likely to be able to predict and maintain your travel time

Though not exactly on the same lines, Google has been experimenting with driverless car in US

I am therefore expecting a day when driving is going to be illegal; if you are a driving enthusiast, you would have special driving tracks to enjoy your hobby!