It is not drink driving or road rage that plagues Delhis roads. Its traffic problems stem from a much more basic cause too many cars on the road. An exhibition in Greater Noida,which showcased traffic technologies from across the world,attempted to find a solution to these problems by applying new technologies to the Indian context. The three-day event,Intertraffic 2013,began on October 3. Speaking at the inauguration,Delhis Education and Social Welfare Minister Kiran Walia said these new technologies would aid in bringing down the number of accidents in the city and also address the growing problem of parking space. Sudhir Krishna,secretary Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) said,In 2011,more than 1.42 lakh people died in road accidents. The Urban Development Ministry,with the help of IIT,Delhi and other institutes,has set up a committee to find ways to monitor traffic,ensure better transportation and greater road safety. Another concern raised at the event was that of an effective urban mass-transportation system. The monorail,a system by the Malaysian firm Scomi Rail was touted as one such project. The system is already being implemented in Mumbai on a trial basis. We are trying to implement it in Delhi too, Rahel M Niyazi from Scomi Rail said. The Delhi Traffic police stall had a video simulation for bike-riders to educate them about common mistakes. We interacted with school children from Delhi,Noida and Greater Noida. It is important to understand the importance of traffic rules at a young age, a senior officer said. The focus of the exhibition,however,was on ways to use technology in developed countries to solve Indias traffic problems. For instance,3M Traffic Safety Systems has coupled its existing American technology with Indian design. In India,there have been several cases of vehicles running into road dividers. Our median markers were adapted for these conditions,so that they are tougher, Anurag Saxena from 3M India Ltd said. American firm Intercomp introduced the Weigh-in-motion-toll-solutions,which would allows toll road operators to weigh heavy vehicles accurately and quickly while they are moving. Toll operators can use this system to charge heavy vehicles according to the weight they are carrying. It will also help to check overweight offenders, Johnny Redman from Intercomp said.
