ON THE ROAD TO COMPLETE SAFETY

Passive safety systems must evolve to include both the occupants inside the car and the road users outside, says Sudeepth Puthumana, Head of Engineering, Passive Safety and Sensorics Segment, Continental Automotive India.

- Sudeepth Puthumana

THE INDIAN ROAD Network carries over 90 percent of the country's passenger traffic and approximately 65 percent of its goods. With the rapid increase in the number of cars and the diverse Indian terrains, road safety has become a critical factor for the citizens of the country. According to data presented by the World Health Organization, every year, more than 1.3 million people lose their lives in road traffic accidents from all over the world. Whereas 20 to 50 million people suffer non-fatal injuries and more than half of all road traffic deaths and injuries involve vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, as well as their passengers.

Developing countries and economies have a higher rate of road traffic injuries, with low-and middle-income countries accounting for 93 percent of the total fatalities. Considering the current fatality data, road safety for both passengers as well as for pedestrians has become an important issue and manufacturers are now looking for improved standards and technologies to enhance the safety provision. The automotive industry strives for a future to fulfil the industrywide shared safety approach, "Vision Zero". At Continental, we define Vision Zero as a future with zero fatalities, zero injuries and zero crashes.