For the first time in decades there were zero bus crashes resulting in death across the country during the Norouz holidays (Iranian New Year holiday season from March 21 to April 2). The improvement is attributed to a smart monitoring system named ‘Sepahtan’ installed on intercity buses.
Sepahtan is an online monitoring system that keeps bus drivers wary and curbs their temptation to violate the law when moving passengers. The monitoring system tracks the route a vehicle takes, its speed and for how many hours a driver is behind the wheel.
The device is jointly designed and produced by three Iranian knowledge-based firms namely Rahnegar Hushmand, Radshid, Hushmand Namaye Afzar, their website reported.
The Traffic Police chief, Mohammad Hossein Hamidi, says the devices were installed on all intercity buses before Norouz and were fully operational. The new system helped reduced traffic violations and subsequently bus crashes across the country.
Many Iranian families travel in the extended Nowrouz holiday season to visit family and friends. For two weeks almost all highways are clogged with cars and buses leading to many road mishaps and fatalities that have cut short thousands of innocent lives on a regular basis.
However, in recent years as laws have become more stringent (including impounding of cars whose drivers violate safety rules) and fines are much more higher, accidents have reduced. But experts say deaths on the roads are too high compared to many other countries.
Noting that the number of intercity buses has increased significantly over the past ten years, Hamidi concurred, “It is not feasible to monitor so many vehicles without smart equipment.”
According to the latest data there are 14,579 active intercity buses with over 37,000 drivers manning the fleet.
A combination of strict police control and smart equipment has resulted in a reduction in the death toll caused by bus accidents.
The total number of lives lost to bus crashes was 543 in 2007. The number dropped to under 200 in the fiscal ending in March, Hamidi said. “The number was zero during the Norouz holidays.”
>How Sepahtan Works
The system includes a camera, a satellite navigation device and a speed calculation system. After sitting behind the wheel each driver is required to insert his driving license into a slot in the device next to the wheel.
Using the card’s chipset, the device loads the driver’s information and automatically syncs the system with his record.
The system also has an electronic logging device which automatically records the time a driver is behind the wheel. This control is due to the Hours of Service Regulation which limits the number of daily and weekly hours of driving and regulates the minimum amount of time drivers must rest between driving shifts.
Drivers are allowed a 9-hour work window a day and have to take a 10-minute break after driving for four.
The device also includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), which monitors vehicle speed and alerts the police in case of violations.
Restrictions on hours of driving help reduce fatigue behind the wheel and contribute to the safety of the passengers.
>The Opposing Side
The system has been established in most developed and developing countries and drivers have protested the measure all over the world.
A group of drivers have also initiated a "No to Sepahtan" campaigns to protest the latest monitoring system. Among their list of grievances: the device is too costly, cameras invade driver privacy, and the inability of the device to differentiate between working hours (moving passengers) and personal use of the vehicle by the driver.
However, the Law Enforcement Forces has dismissed the protestations as unwanted and irrelevant and insists that the monitoring system is mandatory.
The device costs 10 million rials ($200) and the producer has invited drivers to visit the device production line to allay their concerns.
All passenger buses are currently equipped with the system. The LEF is making efforts to also equip tanker trucks transporting flammable cargo with the device.
