Artificial intelligence-driven systems are set to transform transport and environmental safety in India by enhancing road safety and reducing vehicular pollution.Speaking during a panel discussion titled ‘AI for Road Safety: Data-Driven Solutions for Enhancing Road Safety in India’, Pankaj Aggarwal from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said AI-driven technologies could significantly reduce accidents and fatalities on Indian roads. He cited the role of emerging solutions such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication systems that can alert drivers in real time about unsafe behaviour, and prevent potential collisions.Notably, the Coimbatore Forest Division has installed the country’s first AI and machine learning-enabled surveillance system, which has successfully prevented elephant-train collisions along the busy interstate route between Palakkad in Kerala and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The system continuously monitors elephant movement through the Walayar–Madukarai forests and instantly alerts train operators, helping them take timely action to avoid accidents.It may be mentioned that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier this year stated that the government was planning to introduce Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication and make it mandatory by the end of the year. This move by the government could potentially reduce road accidents by half by 2030.Highlighting speeding as the leading cause of traffic violations, Aggarwal noted that AI-powered data collection could offer more reliable and comprehensive evidence than current manual reporting systems, which often fail to capture key contributing factors in accidents. He added that enforcement agencies continue to face challenges in issuing traffic challans effectively, an area where intelligent automation could streamline processes.Aggarwal also stressed the importance of accurate accident and fatality data for policymaking. Referring to Bihar, he pointed that the state’s reported road fatalities are higher than the national average.Beyond road safety, the government is developing an AI-based tool to monitor and manage urban pollution levels, addressing rising environmental concerns in major cities. The proposed system aims to provide real-time insights to help authorities take timely corrective action.In a forward-looking proposal, Aggarwal suggested integrating driving education into school curricula, supported by AI-enabled learning modules to promote road safety awareness from an early age. He said Indian Institute of Technology Madras is currently working on such initiatives, with the long-term goal of making structured driving education a mandatory component of schooling.