ET Road Safety & Safer Mobility Forum 2024: Advancing Road Safety Through Technology and Collaboration

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

At the Mumbai edition of the 'The Safety Circuit: Enhancing Safety Standards in Modern Logistics and Supply Chains' roundtable, organised by The Economic Times and powered by Netradyne, industry leaders convened to share technology-backed strategies and advocated for a cultural shift for making roads safer and saving lives.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. 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. 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." 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: 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." 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." 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." 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. For more information, please visit our website..

ET Road Safety & Safer Mobility Forum 2024: The 'road' ahead to tech-powered, safer logistics and supply chains

The Delhi edition of the 'The Safety Circuit: Enhancing Safety Standards in Modern Logistics and Supply Chains' roundtable, organised by The Economic Times and powered by Netradyne, brought cross-industry decision-makers together to brainstorm and formulate actionable strategies to make logistics and supply chains safer, and leveraging technology towards achieving the goals. India's "road story" is a paradox. Four million trucks swarming the second largest road network in the world and at the same time, the country is second to none in road fatalities. The Government of India's goal to cut down road crash fatalities to 50% by 2025 is quite an ambitious one. The stakeholders, however, are doing their bit and the way ahead looks promising with the intervention of technological advancements and the consensus of cross-industry spokespersons across the corporate world on the issue. Soon after the thought-provoking roundtable in Mumbai, another one was held in the national capital titled 'The Safety Circuit: Enhancing Safety Standards in Modern Logistics and Supply Chains', featuring speakers Amit Kumar, Senior Director - Marketing, Netradyne; Anil Kumar Mishra, National Logistics Head - Pladis Global (South Asia); Dr. Pramod Pandey, Global Health & Safety Engineering Leader (Corporate), Philips; Navdeep Singh Mehram, Vice President CSR & Sustainability, DIAGEO India; Mukesh Behra, Corporate Head - EHS, Britannia Industries Ltd; Cameli Pawar, General Manager, Safety Health and Environment - South Asia - Supply Chain, Unilever South Asia; and Balbir Bhalla, Transportation-Hub Lead, SAR Region, Nestle. 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 Anisha Nayar Dhawan. The gathering, like in Mumbai, was keen to address the safety challenges in India's logistics and supply chains and the possible remedies to minimise road crashes and their human and economic toll. Watch the full video here Navdeep Singh Mehram, Vice President of CSR & Sustainability, DIAGEO India, put things in perspective first up -- emphasising the complexities and the sheer size of our country with diverse road users who do not tend to be in sync in terms of safety. "The bike riders, pedestrians, heavy vehicle drivers, and car owners all think differently when it comes to road safety," Mehram explained. The need is to simplify things and bring uniformity in terms of concern towards road safety. The four Es of road safety "Every single life is important. We need to be prepared," Mehram stressed. "There are four elements that can bring people together on this issue, a binding force," Mehram felt as he described the four Es. He shared the four Es: Road safety in the boardrooms Has road safety become a part of the boardroom discussions? Dr. Pramod Pandey - Global Health & Safety Engineering Leader (Corporate), Philips, ruminated that the issue is close to his heart, "Jaan hai toh jahaan hai." (Life is of utmost importance) "It should be in the DNA of the business regardless of what you do and notwithstanding the cost the company has to incur in doing so," Pandey said. A 2023 IIT Delhi study (Socio-Economic cost of Road Accidents in India by DIMTS in association with TRIPP-IIT Delhi) shows that the national gross domestic product (GDP) bears a 3.14% erosion because of the socio-economic cost of these road crashes. "This emphasises how important it is to include safety in boardroom discussions. Can we accept a 3.14% erosion to the GDP? It essentially means we are not taking care of what we should be taking care of," Mehram echoed Pandey's sentiments. Balbir Bhalla, Transportation-Hub Lead, SAR Region, Nestle, added that safety was at the top of the priority list in meetings, "whether it is a sales meeting or a supply chain meeting." Engineering driver behaviour Cameli Pawar, General Manager, Safety Health and Environment - South Asia - Supply Chain, Unilever South Asia stressed that safety is not just a priority, it is non-negotiable. "We have six pillars of safety: vehicle fitness, driver fitness, driver behavior, journey risk assessment, collaborations and partnerships, and post-accident trauma care," Pawar said. Driver behaviour though, Pawar elucidated, is pivotal and the most critical part. While the behaviour of the drivers cannot be controlled, there can be specific interventions to correct it and make it fall in line with what is desired. At the Mumbai roundtable, Rajeev Mehta, Senior President and Chief Logistics Officer at UltraTech Cement, had asked about driver training schools. "How many are there?" Not many, maybe, but Pawar was upbeat about the Driver Management Centres (DMCs) at UltraTech India. She called the DMCs one of the good things to have happened in the last few years vis-à-vis road safety in India. "These DMCs are equipped with trainers who get the drivers trained, through counseling and specific interventions if they feel there is a need," Pawar said. Taking the emphasis on the need for training drivers further, Mehram said that a "behavior change module" has been brought in through a global partnership with the United Nations Training Institute (UNITA) and has been implemented by around 35 RTOs thus far. "More than 7,50,000 have undergone our training module at these 35 RTOs," Mehram said, "And there has been an 80% behavior change." There, however, is more to engineering driver behavior than meets the eye. Course-correcting long-haul fatigue, fostering a culture of care Shivkumar Balasubramanian, Senior Director at Netradyne, opened the Mumbai roundtable with an elaborate commentary on the health of drivers due to long hauls and the fatigue that sets in. "The working hours are extremely rigorous, you're never at home, always traveling, and your health suffers. You have backaches, severe sleep deprivation, and mental health issues," Balasubramanian stressed. Taking the discussion forward at the Delhi roundtable, Bhalla drew attention towards the non-conducive nature of the road, urging everyone to play a part in ensuring the well-being of the drivers after long hauls. "Distribution centres should be equipped with private restrooms and it should be mandatory for drivers, returning from long hauls, to take rest," Bhalla said. And some companies are already in sync with Bhalla's vision. Britannia for example, according to Mukesh Behra, Corporate Head - EHS, Britannia Industries Ltd. Behara said that his company was taking things beyond technology when it comes to understanding the psyche of the drivers and ensuring they stay in the best of their health, without the fatigue of long hauls catching up on them. "Drivers are welcomed by the security and taken to the restrooms. They are advised to rest and eat free meals, following which they are engaged in training programmes to keep them abreast with technological interventions in supply chains," Behara said. These are the endpoints of the hauls. What about the journey? What is being done to keep them in better shape through lonesome and tiring travels? The highway hypnosis: A travel companion to humanise the trail Amit Kumar, Senior Director, Marketing, Netradyne made a point about "highway hypnosis", which is a phenomenon of getting zoned out or disconnected from reality when you are driving at a consistent speed knowing there are no barriers or a junction that can halt your drive. "Besides, they are human and can get distracted by a phone call, a text message, or a hoarding on the highway. And most of the time they are driving by themselves," Kumar said. And this is where technology comes in to make an actual difference. An unbiased companion, which does not get tired or distracted. Yes, this is where Netradyne brings in its niche offering, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) through an Internet of Things (IoT) device to make the driver's life easier and roads safer. "A smart dash cam maybe, that can detect and read external factors and also keep monitoring the driver. It can see and analyse vehicles on the road, animals, pedestrians -- know their speed and alert the driver while it can also alert the driver when he is being a little careless with say his seat belt, traffic light or other things," Kumar said. Kumar believes that regular alerting by the device can alter the driver's behaviour in the long run. "And it is with this behaviour change that the real impact takes shape." Moreover, the devices can be used to collect data on road conditions, mistakes that take place, and subsequent correctional strategies can be formulated. Sharing data for a collective call Navdeep Singh Mehram, Vice President of CSR & Sustainability, DIAGEO India, calls it a 'black box paradox'. "Every plane has its own data, but they are not sharing what happened upstairs," he said. He emphasises the problems "outside the fence". "You can find the sweet spot and the hotspots and fix it internally, but again the problem lies on the other side of the fence," Mehram drove his point further. Mehram said that there was a need to involve the NHAI, the government body that owns the state highways, the traffic police, and other key contributors. The Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari, recently told the Lok Sabha that there were 5803 black spots on the entire national highway in the country. These black spots are 500-metre stretches where at least five accidents have taken place in the last three years, resulting in 10 fatalities. "So, there are black spots and there are blind spots -- all the data is here. But what do we do with the data? I don't know which platform will be able to help it more," Mehram said. An emotional pitch The data though needs to be put to use, particularly when it pertains to driver behaviour. "We have to close the loop. Technology should be two-dimensional. Technology can give us alerts but those alerts should be used to improve and optimise your vehicle or your asset," Bhalla said. He added that the data points should be used to customise training for a driver, and if the mistakes or careless behaviour is repeated even an emotional pitch can be used to deter him from repeating the same mistake. "His family can be involved. A daughter can be asked to talk to her father, and once you build that emotional connection things get easier," Bhalla asserted. Drivers with high scores are "trump cards" The policy to curb the repetition of mistakes on the road should be multi-pronged. Beyond training and behaviour changes there needs to be a system of incentivising and punishing behaviours. "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," Arpit Raj, Head of Logistics and Customer Service at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd raised some important points at the Mumbai roundtable. His questions were echoed at the Delhi roundtable as well when Pawar talked about the Defensive Driving Training (DDT) Scores. "These scores help us identify high-risk categories of drivers and those who are on a stable side. So, we tend to focus more on people who are on the other side of the fence," Pawar said. Kumar added that a 'driving scoring' mechanism was available in the market, and it can basically be categorised as a driver resume. "It shows how good or bad a driver is. If the driver shows good behaviour on the road he gets positive points and vice versa," Kumar said, "And if the driver has a good score you can rely on him because you care for safety." Behra calls drivers with good scores a "trump card" for an organisation because not only do they bring in the safety element, but they are also good for the organisation's image given the reputation that precedes them. Good behaviour by the drivers needs to be recognised and appreciated. Pandey feels timely appreciation is an absolute must when it comes to the demonstration of safe behaviour. "Such actions, no matter how small they might seem, will have a big impact in the longer run," Pandey said. Overall, the speakers who also happen to be the policymakers in their spheres of work, laid a roadmap detailing actionable strategies geared to enhance safety standards in logistics and supply chains in India. "What is really overwhelming is all the corporates, all the responsible citizens are coming forward and exploring ways to contribute to the bigger cause," Kumar said. Many fear that new technologies will replace humans resulting in job loss. Kumar cleared the air. "And it won't take anyone's job, it will only ease things for us and make us more productive as well as efficient." Replying to Dhawan, who asked whether there could be "zero-accident" stretches, Kumar said that it was not practically realistic. "There will be errors we cannot avoid." However, as the ET Road Safety roundtable revealed, with cross-functional industry leaders exhibiting the will to work together collaboratively, one can only hope that these cutting-edge technological advancements pave the path for achieving the Government of India's goal of reducing fatalities by 50% by 2025. Watch the full video here For more information, please visit our website.