Governance
Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD)
- 14 Jan 2020
- 3 min read
Why in News
The government has launched a central accident database management system that will help in analysing causes of road crashes and in devising safety interventions to reduce such accidents in the country.
- The system, known as the Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD), has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) and will be implemented by the National Informatics Centre.
- The project costs ₹258 crore and is being supported by the World Bank.
- The system will be first piloted in the six States with highest fatalities from road crashes — Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
- IRAD is comprehensive web-based Information Technology (IT) solution and will enable various agencies such as the police, Public Works Department (PWDs),etc. to enter details on a road accident from different perspectives such as investigation, road engineering, vehicle condition etc.
Road Accidents in India
- According to the World Road Statistics, India recorded the highest number of road accident deaths across 199 countries in 2018 followed by China and the US.
- According to government data, more than 1.5 lakh people lost their lives in road crashes in the country in 2018.
- Of the total people killed in road crashes in 2018, 48% were between 18 years and 35 years old, and more than 60% of such fatalities were due to overspeeding.
Working of IRAD
- The IRAD mobile application will enable police personnel to enter details about a road accident, along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident.
- Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device. He or she will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design.
- Data thus collected will be analysed by a team at IIT-M, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken.
- Road users will also be able to upload data on road accidents on a separate mobile application, which is expected to go live from 1st April 2020.
National Informatics Centre
- NIC of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology provides network backbone and e-Governance support to the Central Government, State Governments and UT Administrations.
- It was established in 1976 and is located in New Delhi.
