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Cars may soon talk to each other as Centre pushes V2V safety technology
Cars in India may soon “talk” to each other. The Centre is working on V2V tech to cut accidents that claim 1.8 lakh lives every year.
The Centre is moving closer to introducing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology in India, a system aimed at reducing road accidents by allowing vehicles to exchange safety-related information in real time.
How V2V technology is expected to work
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday that work on the technology is underway and that a joint task force has been set up with the Department of Telecommunications to take the plan forward.
Under V2V communication, vehicles will be able to alert drivers about the speed, location, acceleration, braking and movement of other vehicles nearby. The system can also help identify vehicles in blind spots, giving drivers advance warnings and more time to respond to potential hazards on the road.
“A joint task force has been constituted with the telecom department,” Gadkari said while addressing a press conference after chairing the annual meeting of transport ministers from states and Union Territories.
He added that the Department of Telecom has given its in-principle approval for allocating the spectrum needed for the technology. “The Department of Telecom (DoT) has agreed in principle for the use of 30 MHz (5.875–5.905 GHz) for V2V purposes,” he said.
According to the minister, the wireless system will allow vehicles to communicate directly with each other without relying on mobile networks, helping improve response times and safety outcomes.
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Government flags scale of road safety challenge
Gadkari also highlighted the scale of India’s road safety challenge. “In our country, there are 5 lakh road accidents annually, causing around 1.8 lakh deaths,” he said. He noted that around 66 per cent of those who lose their lives in road accidents fall in the 18–34 age group.
He said the government has been working on multiple fronts to bring down fatalities, including better road engineering, stricter enforcement of traffic laws and higher penalties for violations.
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Motor Vehicles Act amendments and other measures discussed
The minister also announced that amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act are planned for the upcoming Budget session of Parliament. He said the government is preparing 61 amendments that focus on improving road safety, simplifying rules, enhancing citizen services, promoting ease of doing business, improving mobility and aligning Indian regulations with global standards.
Several transport-related issues were discussed during the meeting of state and Union Territory transport ministers. These included safety standards for buses, sleeper coaches and passenger vehicles, along with bus body codes and Bharat NCAP (BNCAP) safety ratings.
The meeting also discussed the phased introduction of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in vehicles. Other topics included a proposed points-based system to track traffic violations and plans to enable digital and automated issuance of permits for goods vehicles up to a specified gross vehicle weight.
Officials said these measures are intended to modernise transport regulations while improving safety and efficiency across the road transport ecosystem.
