2020 has been a challenging year due to the unpredictable events whose impact will be felt in years to come.

COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented disruption, which will not only bear grave economic implications but also redefine the social fabric of society globally. The uncertainty of what the future holds has had a substantial impact on the mental health of many individuals.

The situation has led to an alteration in consumer behaviour that is now fueled by anxiety, fear and health concerns. One of them has been a strong reluctance to use public transport in the near future, which is likely to influence the demand for personal mobility.

As countries across the world gradually unlock, there is an increasing trend in the number of single-occupancy vehicles plying on the roads.

A survey by Capgemini in May 2020 suggests that more than 50 per cent of consumers in India are considering purchasing a car this year, a number which is far higher than the global average of 35 per cent.

The industry-wide September sales figures are a testament to this sentiment. Such a noteworthy increase in the number of vehicles on Indian roads is likely to result in more accidents and road fatalities.

India ranks number 1 with the highest number of fatalities due to road accidents, with an occurrence of one accident per minute.

In 2018 alone, the Ministry of Road & Transport reported a 1.51 lakh deaths, the highest the country has ever witnessed.

The primary causes of road accidents in India are a result of human error, poor infrastructure and reckless driving.

Studies show that the heightened anxieties caused by the pandemic are likely to amplify irrational road behaviour.

The truck drivers who are the lifeline of India’s logistics industry are among the most vulnerable due to their stressful lifestyle that has been aggravated by strained supply lines and increased demand owing to the current scenario.

As per the Indian Economic Survey 2018-2019, 15.8 per cent of the vehicles involved in road-accident fatalities is due to the driver being overworked or sleep-deprived. This number is set to increase, making automotive safety paramount.

Understanding the severity and the need of safety features in a car, the government has been pushing for mandating of safety norms such as airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS), speed alert system, reverse parking sensors, driver and front passenger seatbelt reminder, manual override for the central locking system, crash safety norms, pedestrian protection, etc.

With these safety standards being implemented, stakeholders across the automobile value chain are constantly upgrading their offerings to provide fail-safe safety technologies.

Automakers are using this opportunity to transcend beyond compliance of mere safety regulations and use digital technology, design and ergonomics to enhance vehicular safety.

India now has cars with Global NCAP 4 and 5-star safety ratings and we are witnessing this trend across all segments.

Keeping up with the pace of the growing popularity of electric mobility, automakers are striving to provide its customers with high-tech aspirational products.

These vehicles are not only at par with their ICE counterparts for safety compliances but also meet additional requirements that are warranted for EVs.

Some of these include full-proof battery safety that provides precise thermal performance, which is of utmost importance in a high ambient temperature country like India.

In the Commercial Vehicle (CV) space, OEMs now offer Automotive Industry Standards (AIS 140) compliant connectivity solutions as a factory fit package along with fleet management solutions, which provides owners with the vital insights on vehicle diagnostics.

This helps in making sure that in addition to better vehicle uptime, the vehicles remain safe on the road. Further, owners also get to understand remotely how the drivers are behaving on the road in terms of use and abuse of the vehicle.

These insights now help the owners to make sure that vehicles and drivers both are roadworthy leading to better road safety. Some of the safety insights that are added include alerts for harsh acceleration, harsh braking and rash turning.

With rapidly changing consumer preferences, 2020 is paving the path for a new decade of transformation in the automotive sector.

To stay relevant in this fast-evolving space, OEMs need to gear up and strive towards providing products that are smart, safe and salient while keeping them cost-effective. In addition to road safety, collaboration across industries including OEMs, Tier 1, start-ups and other technology partners will have to bring in new features and applications which will enable ‘Health & Wellness monitoring’ to mitigate the risks caused due to a pandemic.

(The author is CTO at Tata Motors)