Imagine that a driver while driving at 70 km/h picks up a mobile phone. Experts believe that in such an emergency, the driver may be five seconds late in applying the brakes. Research also shows that at this speed, the vehicle can travel up to 51 feet in half a second, which is enough for an accident. These figures were shared by Indore-based counseling psychologist, Dr. Sandeep Atre, when we were discussing the interim report of luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz, which it has submitted after the fatal accident of industrialist Cyrus Mistry. According to the report, a few seconds before the accident, the car was traveling at a speed of 110 km/h and when it hit the divider on the bridge, the speed was 90 km/h. The brakes were applied five seconds before the collision. Another shocking statistic is that India has 20% of the world's vehicles, but the country accounts for 12% of the world's road accident deaths.
How did Jehan get such results? Because there are many applications like 'Mobilei' in the market, which collect information from outside the vehicle as well. The device has two parts. The first is a camera mounted on the windshield facing the road. The second is located on the right side of the driver, which gives warnings and also monitors the movement of the driver. Such devices can see such things coming in front of the vehicle that are missed by human eyes, they alert the driver on the screen.
India has some answers, but on a small scale. Consider the example of Jehan Kotwal, who runs a transport business, which he inherited from his father. When his father was running a business, he had 10 trucks and there were two-three accidents a year. Business grew and today they have 110 trucks and the number of accidents has come down to one.
It is not that these figures are being talked about only after the death of a big personality. Long ago tea companies also started telling truck drivers in their advertisements that their tea keeps drivers awake for long journeys. While the car companies focused on seat belts and air bags, the RTO focused on the driver's speed limit. External factors were also responsible for this. For example, animals coming on the road, humans taking a wrong turn, drivers taking shortcuts crossing the divider or cycling wearing a kurta, due to which the driver of the vehicle gets confused even in the slightest fog. The question is, who will warn drivers in advance of the dangers that exist outside?
Jehaan himself along with Sumedh Mane has created an app called 'Humsafar', which engages drivers in quizzes on cricket and Bollywood, asking them to do 'chai ki chuski marlo', 'truck thaya, aap nahi thaye?' Like what he says. If the driver doesn't blink properly, the app warns, 'Get up Ustad, you're sleeping.' Currently 20,000 truck drivers are using their app.
