Real-Time Driver Fatigue and Rash Driving Alert System for Bus Fleets

Objective: To develop and pilot a digital system that detects driver fatigue and rash-driving behavior in public bus fleets, alerting operators and supervisors in real time.

India's public transport sector, especially state road transport corporations and city bus services, faces persistent challenges related to driver fatigue and rash driving. These issues contribute to road accidents, endanger passenger safety, and strain emergency and healthcare systems. The problem directly affects state transport departments, urban mobility agencies, and aligns with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) for safe, reliable transport.

The proposed solution is an integrated hardware-software system using onboard sensors (camera, accelerometer, GPS) and AI algorithms to monitor drivers for signs of fatigue (e.g., eye closure, yawning, inattentiveness) and detect rash-driving patterns (e.g., harsh acceleration, sudden lane changes, speeding). When risky behavior is detected, alerts are sent to both the driver and a central control room for timely intervention.

Key features include a driver monitoring module using computer vision, telematics data integration, a real-time alerting dashboard for fleet supervisors, and an analytics backend for incident reporting. The working prototype will be tested with a local bus operator, using anonymized data and privacy-preserving methods.

Measurable impact includes reduction in fatigue- and rash-driving incidents, improved passenger safety, and actionable insights for transport authorities. The system is designed for deployment across various fleet sizes and geographies, and can scale to different public transport modes, supporting digital transformation of road safety management.