India has introduced a new highway advisory system (HAS), which will provide real-time information and advisories to drivers travelling on the country’s highways.

This project has been started as a pilot project on the NH-8 Delhi-Jaipur Highway.

The new HAS is a free-to-air information distribution system that can be accessed through radio. This project aims to make travel on the national highway safer and offer a hassle-free experience to drivers.

The real-time information collected by toll plazas, patrol vehicles, concessionaires and traffic officials is passed to the HAS control centre through mobile applications, telephones and CCTV.

"The radio broadcasts will also raise people’s awareness about road safety, which is very necessary for making our highways safe for commuters."

Upon receipt of all the information, the HAS centre processes the information and sends it to public broadcaster All India Radio (AIR).

Information and alerts get broadcast over AIR’s Delhi, Alwar and Jaipur FM stations, which provide live traffic updates on the NH8.

The HAS project is being implemented in three phases.

The first phase uses FM broadcasts; second phase will see a wider broadcast infrastructure wherein sensors and networked cameras will be installed to cover the entire stretch of the highway; and in third phase, HAS services will be offered only via digital broadcast mode.

Indian Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari was quoted by Traffictechnologytoday.com as saying: "The government is committed to reducing fatalities due to road accidents by 50%. HAS is an aid that will help to achieve this target.

"By providing information about traffic conditions on the highway, accidents, weather and meteorological information, and information on highway amenities, the system will help to reduce road accidents, as well as fatalities resulting from these accidents, and make travel faster and more convenient.

"The radio broadcasts will also raise people’s awareness about road safety, which is very necessary for making our highways safe for commuters."