From potholes to poor lighting: AI dash cam detects 30 highway defects

New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will deploy artificial intelligence-driven dashcam analysis services (DAS) across operations and maintenance contracts across approximately 40,000 km of the NH network. The decision comes amid complaints from commuters about ride quality and road conditions.For effective monitoring, NHAI divided the country into five zones and awarded contracts for a period of two years.This week, the Department of Highways informed the House of Commons that the number of public complaints about the quality of road construction and the condition of NHs pavements has increased by more than 60 per cent this year compared with last year. Such complaints rose to 11,340 as of March 12 from 7,030 in 2024-25. The ministry also said that 9,977 complaints had been resolved this year.An NHAI official said dash cams will be installed in every highway patrol vehicle and record all details, including 30 defects and anomalies on the highway. The main focus is on road surface conditions, including potholes, cracks, ruts and surface deterioration, as well as issues such as faded lane markings, damaged crash barriers and non-functioning street lights.“The records will be fed into a dedicated IT platform that has dedicated modules for data management and artificial intelligence analysis. This will generate reports within a day and identify deficiencies. Based on this directive, instructions will be issued to the agencies and officials concerned to resolve the issues,” an official said.The system will also identify other safety issues including illegal median openings, unauthorized signage, encroachments and illegal parking.These surveys will be conducted at least weekly, with overnight inspections at least once a month, to assess the performance of road signs, pavement markings, spikes and highway lighting. It will also cover key issues such as standing water, lack of drainage cover, vegetation growth and bus stop conditions.