New Delhi, Jun 27 (IANS): Intel on Monday partnered with leading technology and transportation providers, vehicle makers, academia, and government to collaborate and bring solutions to address road safety-related challenges.

The collaboration, part of the Safety Pioneers Conference that was inaugurated by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari here, aims to serve as a platform to introduce pioneering road safety initiatives and technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), ADAS, and other emerging technologies that can bring impact at scale.

Furthering its focus on using technology for road safety, the company also showcased Intel Onboard Fleet Services ("Solution"), an AI-powered fleet safety solution for commercial vehicles at the conference.

As a first of its kind initiative, this comprehensive solution brings world-class and road-tested technology, exclusively designed for Indian conditions.

It offers collision avoidance systems (CAS), driver monitoring systems, fleet telematics, fleet health, and fuel efficiency features.

"Road safety has always been a pressing issue in our country, with the highest rate of traffic accidents in the world. Intel along with its ecosystem partners from the government, industry and academia has been relentlessly working towards leveraging the power of technology to help achieve India's road safety goals. And this conference further extends the commitment by bringing together critical players to collaborate, innovate and advance road safety for India," said Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India, and Vice President, Intel Foundry Services, in a statement.

Intel's solutions also include advanced telematics, covering vehicle health and fuel analytics along with a unique driver scoring and rating module. This can significantly help fleets reduce the risk of accidents and downtime, while encouraging good driving practices through targeted incentivisation and reward programmes.

At the heart of the solution is driver coaching, which activates 15 different inputs to provide individualised coaching recommendation for commercial fleets, who lose up to 25 workdays per accident involved.

The solution, already deployed by 16 customers, indicates that this technology can reduce the probability of accidents by 40-60 per cent and estimates that overall efficiency losses can be reduced by up to 50 per cent.

India has one of the highest rates of traffic accidents in the world - responsible for nearly 11 per cent of all road fatalities across the globe with just 1 per cent of the world's vehicles. There are 17 deaths every hour and an accident every minute on Indian roads.

Six out of 10 accidents involving commercial fleets can be prevented with timely driver interventions. Moreover, the commercial fleet industry suffers efficiency losses up to Rs 48,000 crore per year due to accidents and fleet breakdowns.