Driving On National Highways? You'll Now Get Alerts For Stray Cattle Movement

To reduce road accidents caused by stray cattle, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched a pilot project that sends real-time safety alerts to users of National Highways. This initiative is part of Road Safety Month (January 1-31).

The pilot runs on the Jaipur-Agra and Jaipur-Rewari National Highway corridors, which are recognised as high-risk areas due to frequent cattle movement. Under this project, commuters will receive location-based alerts nearly 10 km in advance. This will help them slow down and drive carefully, especially during fog and low-visibility conditions.

Safety advisories will be sent through a Flash SMS followed by a voice alert. The SMS, issued in Hindi, translates to, "Ahead is an area where livestock graze. Please drive slowly and carefully."

To prevent alert fatigue, users will not receive repeat alerts within a 30-minute window.

The system uses telecom technology and identifies cattle-prone zones through historical accident data and field inputs.

Officials said this initiative supports a series of actions by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to improve highway safety. 

Recently, the ministry announced stricter enforcement of speed limits in accident-prone areas and expanded the use of intelligent traffic management systems, including automated speed enforcement cameras and variable message signboards across major corridors.

Additionally, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has instructed state authorities to enhance roadside infrastructure by building cattle-proof fencing and designated underpass crossings in rural areas. These measures aim to reduce human-animal collisions and promote safer mobility for passengers and commercial vehicles.

The NHAI stated the pilot's performance will be reviewed before expanding to other stray cattle-prone National Highway sections across the country.