Incentivising safe driving would reduce accidents: MIT professor

The professor says tech to monitor cellphone use during driving would help assess driver behaviour

Penalties against cellphone use while driving should be complemented with incentives for good driving, an MIT expert has said.

At a talk organised by the Bangalore International Centre and Infosys Science Foundation, Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Hari Balakrishnan spoke at length on Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a product to assess a person’s engagement with the mobile phone while driving.

Citing a study of 5,000 drivers, he said manual, visual and cognitive distractions of using a smartphone while driving leave a 10-second hangover effect. Screen interaction increases 75% safety risk, while drivers also endanger themselves due to calls and other kinds of phone usage.

"The smartphone has become an appendage as we have come more and more reliant on it," Balakrishnan said, stressing the need to measure the driver behaviour with telematics.

Rooted in the device’s sensor data, telematics gauges driver behaviour without invading privacy and provides an unbiased assessment of driving skills. The data will help classify drivers based on their performance rather than on age, gender or other factors.

The professor said drivers scoring high on the telematic assessment could also be given incentives like discounts on vehicle insurance or gift vouchers. Additionally, the technology could also provide real-time monitoring, feedback on driving and emergency alerts in the event of a crash.

To a question from retired IAS officer and session moderator K Jairaj on the technology’s applicability in the Indian road and traffic scenario, Balakrishnan said the technology has been tested in South Africa and could be introduced in India provided there is a collaboration of local players.