Mysuru: The number of accidental deaths on the 119-km Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway has significantly decreased following the implementation of the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS).

Since September 2024, there have been no reported fatalities, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Dec. 5.

Gadkari was responding to queries raised by Alathur MP K. Radhakrishnan regarding the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) on National Highways and reviews conducted on accident data before and after ITS implementation.

Impact on Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway

Gadkari highlighted that ATMS can be implemented as part of ATMS or integrated into broader Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication networks. The primary goal of ATMS is to reduce accidents, traffic violations and incident response times.

He added that the Government plans to roll out ATMS solutions on Highways and Expressways in a phased manner. The Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway is the first and only Highway in India where ATMS implementation has been completed.

A review of accident data revealed a sharp decline in fatalities following the system’s implementation in July 2024. Gadkari said that in July 2024, there were six accident-related deaths, two deaths in August 2024 and from September 2024 onwards there were zero fatalities reported.

In comparison, the Highway recorded 188 accident-related deaths in 2023. Highest fatalities were reported in May (29) and June (27), while March and April each saw 20 deaths.

Fatalities in 2024 – Before ATMS Implementation: January – 12 deaths; March and June – Nine deaths each; February and July – Six deaths each, April and May – Three deaths each, the Union                    Minister said.