The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) is set to release 2023–24 highway “black spot” data using real-time accident systems e-DAR/iRAD.
What are Highway Black Spots?
- A black spot is a 500-metre road stretch where: ≥ 5 accidents causing death/serious injury, or ≥ 10 deaths occur within 3 years.
- These spots are priority areas for immediate safety upgrades due to high accident frequency.
Background
- India records one of the highest road accident fatalities globally, with many deaths on National Highways.
- Parliamentary panel (March 2025) criticised MoRTH for slow action: Out of 13,795 black spots identified (2016–22), only ~5,036 permanently corrected.
- The panel termed this a major governance lapse.
Government Action Plan
- Three-Category Timeline for Fixing Spots
- High-risk areas → Permanent solution in 30 days
- Moderate-risk → Within 90 days
- Low-risk → Within 180 days
- Agencies missing deadlines may face penalties.
- Mandatory 3-month & 12-month post-fix audits.
- Proposal for public dashboard to track rectification progress.
e-DAR / iRAD System
- e-DAR: Electronic Detailed Accident Report
- iRAD: Integrated Road Accident Database
- Mobile-based system developed by MoRTH to feed real-time geo-tagged accident data from police.
Key Functions
- Generates unique accident IDs
- Captures photos, videos, GPS location, and time
- Alerts road engineers instantly
- Creates dashboards for black-spot mapping
- Helps families fast-track compensation claims
Data Accuracy Steps
- TRW (Transport Research Wing) verifies state-submitted accident data.
- Data mismatch between TRW & e-DAR has reduced to below 5% after coordination with states.
Significance
- Enables evidence-based road safety planning
- Faster identification & fixing of dangerous locations
- Supports India’s target to eliminate highway black spots by 2027-28
- Contributes to mission of 95% fatality reduction by 2028
Conclusion:
Modern digital tools like e-DAR & iRAD mark a shift toward data-driven road safety governance, but timely execution and strict accountability will be critical to truly saving lives on India’s highways.
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