New Delhi: Nearly a decade ago, Deepanshu was in Class 11 when a road accident in Laxmi Nagar left his father bedridden for two years.That moment upended his family’s life. It also gave him his life’s mission. He went on to found the India Road Safety Council and later joined Crashfree India, a movement dedicated to safer roads.His co-founder, Amar, experienced a similar wake-up call as an IIT student when some friends were seriously injured in a road crash. “More than the accident itself, what stayed with me was seeing my mother struggle,” Deepanshu recalled. “Our lives were completely turned upside down. Financially, we were stretched thin. My brother had to start working early, and I had to figure out ways to support the family while in Class XI. We didn’t know how the compensation process worked and felt helpless. That’s when I realised just how many gaps exist in the system.”On Sunday, CrashFree India organised the NextMile: Road Safety Policy Ideathon at the India Habitat Centre. Ten finalist teams from across the country pitched ideas, guided by mentors, including IIT professors, legal experts and practitioners.The discussions covered a wide array of topics. Some teams focused on protecting delivery riders who cater to quick-commerce deliveries. Others explored black-spot rectification. Crash data transparency, emergency response protocols, insurance and compensation, and speed management were also discussed.The winners, Team Strategist, zeroed in on the safety of quick-commerce delivery agents. In Aug, a 40-year-old delivery executive died in a hit-and-run after his e-scooter was struck by a negligently driven SUV in Vasant Kunj (north).With little formal training, long working hours and the constant pressure of deadlines, the workers are among the most vulnerable. Team Strategist proposed a city-wide driver permit system that would require road safety training and practical driving tests before riders begin work. This would raise the minimum competency level and enforce essentials like helmet use and functioning brakes.Building on a 5S framework — safe speed, safe streets, safe spaces, safe system, safe road users — the team’s suggestion went beyond licensing. It tackled speed and fatigue, which it categorised as a “silent killer.” Their proposal included a digital platform that enforced rest breaks through “cooling-off” periods and designated rest zones — inspired by Chennai’s rider rest pods. “The one in Chennai have AC. We can implement multiple grassroots-level pods,” the team said.The team also proposed a 1% levy on transactions for a city-level rider safety fund. It suggested integrating police accident data into a centralised platform to speed up black-spot rectification.Another winning team, Safer Miles, addressed compensation delays. It pitched SurakshaSetu, a one-stop digital crash compensation platform powered by blockchain and smart contracts. Its solution tackled a chronic problem: the long delays in accessing accident compensation. It proposed linking FIRs, hospitals and insurers in real time, so that victims get quick financial relief. Automatic triggers would handle SMS claim tracking and hospital treatment linking.Other ideas also sparked discussion, especially around black-spot rectification and data-driven safety. Spme of the solutions included a centralised platform for agencies and resident welfare associations, alerts for drivers in high-risk zones, maps of safest routes, citizen reporting on road flaws, and integrated monitoring systems with police for quick follow-up. Deepanshu said: “We will try to take the ideathon’s inputs forward and present the ideas of the top three teams at the policy level. If approved, the pilot will begin in Delhi.”
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