Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for identifying accident-prone locations, and more particularly to integrating, adapting and improving various technologies and methods to provide a comprehensive vehicular speed control and safety system for identifying and mapping the accident prone-locations to be displayed on a graphical user interface to the user for reducing travel time, pollution emissions and traffic accidents.
Background and Prior art of the Invention
Modern automobile travel has long been plagued by excessive traffic congestion, unsafe travelling conditions and resulting in accidents due to the over speed in the automobile use. Drivers have long sought optimum travel routes to minimize drive time and prevent accident prone zones. Various types of mapping software and systems exist that provide maps and driving directions over communications networks, such as the Internet. However, these systems and software do not identify accident hot spots (i.e., accident-prone locations). Further, these systems and software do not notify users of the locations of such accident-prone locations.
With more than one death and four injuries every minute, India has the dubious distinction of reporting highest number of road fatalities in the world and the government says the prime reason is "drivers' fault". Road accidents are one of the most important problems being faced by modern societies. Apart from the humanitarian aspect of reducing road deaths and injuries in developing countries, a strong case can be made for reducing road crash deaths on economic grounds alone, as they consume massive financial resources that the countries can ill afford to lose. The automobile boom is becoming a curse in disguise by killing and injuring millions of people all over the world. Traffic on the Indian City roads has increased tremendously due to the increasing rate of urbanization. Globalization of the Indian economy and the improvement in economic status of the people has also induced greater impact on the transportation system. The frequently increasing inadequacy of public transport, rising rate of vehicle ownership

and migration of people to urban fringes have led to extensive use of private modes, all along the road network. The traffic movements in city roads have been compounded by frequent interruptions, resulting in drastic reduction in speed, leading to congestion and accidents.
Research on the advanced vehicle control technologies associated with automating highway operations started more than 30 years ago. These were mostly small in research and development level. All the efforts were taken on road side automation. The addition of new highway lanes has now become less practical. This, coupled with the availability of new electronic and communications technologies, has made high technology solutions more feasible and politically, economically and environmentally attractive. Transportation research and development efforts are being refocused toward Advanced Vehicle Control and Safety Systems to relieve congestion and improve safety.Advanced Vehicle Control and Safety systems include individual vehicle controls, cooperative driver-vehicle-highway systems, and eventually full automation on certain roadways. Such systems are possible today because of the tremendous advancements that have been made in vehicle and roadway sensors, servo systems, image processors, computers, and communication systems. These systems help in reducing the accident rates.
An analysis of the prior art documents disclose US6370475 wherein system and method for preventing vehicle accidents in which the absolute position of the vehicle is determined, e.g., using a satellite-based positioning system such as GPS, and the location of the vehicle relative to the edges of the roadway is then determined based on the absolute position of the vehicle and stored data relating to edges of roadways on which the vehicle may travel is provided. A system or component within the vehicle is initiated, e.g., an alarm or warning system, or the operation of a system or component is affected, e.g., an automatic guidance system, if the location of the vehicle approaches close to an edge of the roadway or intersects with an edge of the roadway.U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,483 describes an automobile navigation system. This invention attempts to correct for the inaccuracies in the GPS system through the use of an inertial guidance, geomagnetic sensor, or vehicle crank shaft speed sensor. However, it is unclear as to

whether the second position system is actually more accurate than the GPS system. This combined system, however, cannot be used for sub-meter positioning of an automobile. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,314,037 and 5,529,138 describe a collision avoidance system using laser radar and a laser gyroscope.
But none of the prior'art documents provide a system and method of the present invention for the safety mechanisms of the vehicle user to cruise along the accident prone co-ordinates in real time.
Summary of the Invention
A method and a road traffic accident base map information pre-loaded vehicle safety control system is disclosed wherein the system comprises a GIS tool comprising the density map for pre-determined periods indicating the accident prone zones in the required latitudinal and longitudinal co-ordinates, a GPS module including a GPS sensor and receiver for identifying the real time position of the vehicle, a processor for continuously receiving the signals from the GPS module and for periodically comparing the vehicular co-ordinates with the density map co-ordinates for determining the movement of the vehicle in the accident prone zones. Upon the processor establishing a match between the vehicle cruising co-ordinates and the pre-loaded accident prone zone co-ordinates, activating the control signals to the speed governor and the alert systems for controlling the operational speed of the internal combustion engine and reducing the rpm to the pre-determined values and for correspondingly alerting the vehicle user through visual displays and audible text to speech voice synthesizers to prevent any untoward accidents in the said zones.
Object of the Invention
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a system that monitors, controls and alerts the vehicle upon the vehicle traversing through the accident prone zones.

It is a secondary object of the present invention to provide a system comprising a Geographic Information System (GIS) for desktops and for analysing the networks in determining the density maps corresponding to the accident prone zones for a pre-determined period, for performing statistical analysis, for conducting overlay and proximity analysis, for creating geo-processing models, for performing surface analysis and for performing network based spatial analysis of the pre-determined geographical co-ordinates.
It is a tertiary object of the present invention to provide a system comprising a GPS module including a GPS sensor and receiver for determining the real time positional co-ordinates of the vehicle, for providing the locational information to the vehicle user and for establishing a communication through the wireless networks.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a system comprising a speed governor interacting with the internal combustion engine of the vehicle and for controlling the rpm of the engine based on the inputs from the processor.
It is a fifth object of the present invention to provide a system comprising the microprocessor interacting with the GIS, GPS module, speed governor system and the alert mechanisms for receiving and transmitting the corresponding control signals to the various units.
It is a sixth object of the present invention to provide a system including an alert mechanism comprising of a display and an audible component for converting the text into speech through the synthesizers.
It is a seventh object of the present invention to provide a system comprising a plurality of drivers and amplifier circuits for the co-ordination between the said microprocessor and the multiple components.
It is a final object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing the accidents and for maintaining vehicle control and speed safety mechanisms to prevent the accidents in the high density map zones.

Statement of the Invention
1) A road traffic accident base map information pre-loaded vehicle, safety control system comprises i) GIS network based spatial analysis tool for determining the accident data and
for determining the accident prone area. ii) GPS units with high precision GPS receivers and sensors for receiving the
sensed positional co-ordinates of the said vehicle. iii) A speed sensor unit for periodically sensing the velocity at which the said
vehicle is travelling. iv) A variable speed governor unit for controlling and co-ordinating the speed of
the internal combustion engine of the vehicle based on the positional co-ordinates. v) A voice based alert system for providing the audible and visual alerts upon
the said vehicle travelling in the accident prone co-ordinates stored in the
memory. vi) A processor interfacing with the said plurality of the units and configured to
1. Interact with the GPS module for periodically sensing the current positional co-ordinates of the said vehicle received from the GPS receiver and sensor.
2. Compare the said data with the stored latitude and longitudinal data of the accident prone regions in the GIS network based tool.
3. Upon determining a match between the said compared data, providing the corresponding activation signals to the alert system and speed governor system.
4. Provide the corresponding signals to the display system for visually providing the information to the users.
5. Co-ordinate with the plurality of the relay drivers for the active maintenance of the GPS sensor system, alert system and speed governor system.

2) A method for preventing the accidents and for maintaining vehicle control and speed safety mechanisms comprises the steps of i) Maintaining vehicle accident occurrence information through the GIS unit,
wherein the accident occurrence information comprises accident location
information; ii) Identifying, based at least in part on the accident location information, one or
more accident-prone locations; and iii) Mapping the said density map related to the accident prone locations to the
vehicle unit. iv) Receiving the GPS co-ordinates corresponding to the latitudinal and
longitudinal position of the vehicle at regular intervals from the GPS modules,
sensors and receivers. v) Periodically comparing the latitudinal position from the said received co¬ordinates with the corresponding data in the density map stored in the GIS
tool by the said processor for determining any match between the said two
data. vi) Comparing the longitudinal co-ordinates of the said data upon establishing a
match between the said latitudinal data comparison. vii) Activating the speed governor system and the alert system upon determining
a match between the said two compared data. viii)Correspondingly controlling the speed of the vehicle through the activation of
the speed governor system and by regulating the rpm of the internal
combustion engine upon the vehicle cruising through the accident prone
location. ix) Alerting the vehicle user through the visual display and the audible speaker
system involving the speech synthesizer for indicating the vehicle movement
in the accident prone region and for the prevention of the untoward accidents.

Fig. 1 illustrates the flow diagram in performing the objectives of the invention.
Fig.2 illustrates the block diagram of Advanced Vehicle Control and Safety System (AVCSS).
Fig.3 illustrates the block diagram of the speed governor system.
Fig.4 illustrates the circuit diagram of the alert system including the voice synthesizer.
Detailed description of the drawings
The major factor that will significantly affect the design of automobiles is involved with preventing deaths and serious injuries from automobile accidents. There are approximately forty thousand people killed each year in India by automobile accidents and another several hundred thousand are seriously injured. The safe operation of a vehicle can be viewed as a process in the engineering sense. To achieve safe operation, first the process must be designed and then a vehicle control system must be designed to implement the process. The goal of a process designer is to design the process so that it does not fail. The fact that so many people are being seriously injured and killed in traffic accidents is proof that the current process is not working and requires a major redesign.
To design this new process the information required by the process must be identified, the source of that information determined and the process designed so that the sources of information can communicate effectively to the user of the information, which will most often be the vehicle control system. The system maintains that people will continue to operate their vehicle and control of the vehicle will only be seized by the control system when such an action is required to avoid an accident or when such control is needed for the safe movement of vehicles through potentially accident prone zones on a roadway. When this happens, the vehicle operator will be notified and given the alert to maintain a vigil over the roadway by controlling the speed of the vehicle. In

some implementations, especially when this invention is first implemented on a trailbasis, control will riot be taken away from the vehicle operator but a warning system will alert the driver of a potential collision as illustrated in fig. 1.
The fig. 1 of the invention concerns with theoverall method steps for preventing the accidents and for maintaining vehicle control and speed safety mechanisms through the AVCSS comprises the steps of maintaining vehicle accident occurrence information through the GIS unit, wherein the accident occurrence information comprises accident location information, identifying, based at least in part on the accident location information, one or more accident-prone locations which are collected from the respective agencies and government organizations and mapping the said density map related to the accident prone locations onto the vehicle unit. The method further comprises the steps of receiving the GPS co-ordinates corresponding to the latitudinal and longitudinal position of the vehicle at regular intervals from the GPS modules, sensors and receivers, periodically comparing the latitudinal position from the said received co-ordinates with the corresponding data in the density map stored in the GIS tool by the said processor for determining any match between the said two data, comparing the longitudinal co-ordinates of the said data upon establishing a match between the said latitudinal data comparison, activating the speed governor system and the alert system upon determining a match between the said two compared data and correspondingly controlling the speed of the vehicle through the activation of the speed governor system and by regulating the rpm of the internal combustion engine upon the vehicle cruising through the accident prone location and finally alerting the vehicle user through the visual display and the audible speaker system involving the speech synthesizer for indicating the vehicle movement in the accident prone region and for the prevention of the untoward accidents.
Accident-prone locations are "hot spots" or zones that historically have a higher frequency of accidents. By notifying drivers of these accident-prone locations, drivers may be more cautious and/or defensive when driving in such areas. Fig.2 illustrates the block diagram of Advanced Vehicle Control and Safety System (AVCSS). The road traffic accident base map information pre-loaded vehicle safety control system

comprises of a GIS network based spatial analysis tool for determining the accident data and for determining the accident prone area, a GPS units with high precision GPS receivers and sensors for receiving the sensed positional co-ordinates of the said vehicle, a speed sensor unit for periodically sensing the velocity at which the said vehicle is travelling, a variable speed governor unit for controlling and co-ordinating the speed of the internal combustion engine of the vehicle based on the positional co-ordinates, a voice based alert system for providing the audible and visual alerts upon the said vehicle travelling in the accident prone co-ordinates stored in the memory and a processor interfacing with the said plurality of the units and configured to interact with the GPS module for periodically sensing the current positional co-ordinates of the said vehicle received from the GPS receiver and sensor, compare the said data with the stored latitude and longitudinal data of the accident prone regions in the GIS network based tool, upon determining a match between the said compared data, providing the corresponding activation signals to the alert system and speed governor system, provide the corresponding signals to the display system for visually providing the information to the users and to co-ordinate with the plurality of the relay drivers for the active maintenance of the GPS sensor system, alert system and speed governor system.
The goal of the first part of the invention is to identify accident-prone areas using GIS and GPS tools. Specifically this involves plotting individual accident locations, identifying accident-prone areas using GIS's spatial analysis tools, and presenting a diagnosis of accident characteristics by different types at these high accident locations. The accident data proposed to use in this study will be collected from Chennai City Traffic Police for all type of roads. The accident data in local grid coordinates are converted to latitudes and longitudes, and exported as X, Y coordinates and overlaid on the city layer. Based on the more number of accident occurred at a specific location is called as accident prone area. Density maps will be produced for all the years that are going to be considered from 2000 to 2010 with the input data as individual accident points. Density maps show where the highest concentration of a particular type of accidents. Those maps will be useful for looking at patterns rather than at locations of individual features. Hence by density maps the places where accidents are clustered

can be easily distinguished. From the density maps produced for different years, the accident-prone areas can be easily identified. In order to get the real locations wherein the accidents are highly clustered all through these years, the raster layers are added up together. Thus the summed up layer gives us a density map showing accident density distribution.
The said GIS network based spatial analysis tool comprises Arc GIS network analyst and desktop for calculating density of traffic and distance to the target, performing advanced statistical analysis, conducting overlay and proximity analysis, creating sophisticated geo-processing models, representing surfaces and performing advanced surface analysis including spatial analysis, data management, mapping and visualization, advanced editing, geocoding, map projections, advanced imagery, data sharing and customization along witruproviding network-based spatial analysis including routing, fleet routing, travel directions, closest facility, service area, and location-allocation and wherein the said GIS network based spatial analysis tool comprises Arc GIS network analyst for dynamic modeling realistic network conditions, including one¬way streets, turn and height restrictions, speed limits, and variable travel speeds based on traffic.ArcGIS Network Analyst provides network-based spatial analysis, such as routing, fleet routing, travel directions, closest facility, service area, and location-allocation. Using ArcGIS Network Analyst, you can dynamically model realistic network conditions, including one-way streets, turn and height restrictions, speed limits, and variable travel speeds based on traffic. You can easily build networks from your GIS data by using a sophisticated network data model.
The road traffic accident base map information pre-loaded vehicle safety control system as illustrated in fig. 2 wherein the said GPS unit includes MapmylndiaCarpad module for identifying the accident prone zone based on the latitudinal and longitudinal co-ordinates, for receiving the locational information of the accident prone zone from the GPS receivers, for providing the 3D navigational maps comprising the street names, building and house numbers and for providing the wireless communication for the vehicle user on the 3G network.When a vehicle is moving on the road, the accident prone zone will be identified based on latitude and longitude (i.e. location of particular

point). The GPS receiver will gives the location information for accidents. It is proposed to use the MapmylndiaCarpad as it has got more features. It is also proposed to use high precision GPS receivers to have more accurate data about the locations. Since the vehicle is moving at higher speed, the road user has to get quick information about accident prone areas and the corresponding alerts. MapmylndiaCarpad features a 3D navigation with detailed maps, including house numbers, streets and buildings along with 3G on call, message, mail and chat on the move, It can used on the back and front seats, head-rest and windshield mounts,New Aura GPS user Interface, 7" inch Capacitive Touchscreen, Travel guides and nearby Point of Interest are displayed for the vehicle user.
The road traffic accident base map information pre-loaded vehicle safety control system as illustrated in fig.3 wherein the said speed governor unit controls the operational speed and rpm of the internal combustion engine based on the input from the said processor and correspondingly varies the speed of the vehicle based on its positional co-ordinates.A governor, or speed limiter, is a device used to measure and regulate the speed of a machine, such as an engine. A classic example is the centrifugal governor, also known as the Watt or fly-ball governor, which uses weights mounted on spring-loaded arms to determine how fast a shaft is spinning, and then uses proportional control to regulate the shaft speed.Electronic: a servo motor is linked to the throttle and controlled by an electronic module [disambiguation needed] that senses engine speed by counting electrical pulses emitted by the ignition system or a magnetic pickup. The frequency of these pulses varies directly with engine speed, allowing the control module to apply a proportional voltage to the servo to regulate engine speed. Due to their sensitivity and rapid response to speed changes, electronic governors are often fitted to engine-driven generators designed to power computer hardware, as the generator's output frequency must be held within narrow limits to avoid malfunction. Electronic governor uses magnetic speed sensor to monitor the rpm of the engine. The sensor continuously feeds information back to the ECM (Electronic Control Module). The ECM then computes all the information sent from all other engine sensors, such as the throttle position sensor, turbocharger-boost sensor, engine oil

pressure and temperature sensor, engine coolant sensor, and fuel temperature to limit engine speed.
The variable speed governor as the name suggests, allows speed limitation based on the location of the vehicle in the country. If the vehicle is in National Highway it would run at a maximum permissible speed of 60kmph, however when it enters an accident prone zone of any state it would run at a higher speed as the speed restriction would be implemented as programmed and will be varied based on change in location.The GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor identifies the location of the vehicle based on which the corresponding applicable speed limit is made applicable to the speed governor that would limit the speed of the vehicle to this speed. Thus the vehicle would drive at a speed of 30kmph in accident prone zones, 40kmph in school and hospital zones, 60kmph in state highways and national highways in free speed while into other unmarked zones and not a single speed as in current single speed governors. This product is future ready allowing vehicle to conform to such benefits once the variable speeds are notified.The said speed governor system determines the operational speed of the said vehicle based on the positional location of the said vehicle.The speed governor can accurately control engine speeds at low idle conditions. The advantages of the speed governor includes increased road safety, reduced fuel consumption, reduced maintenance cost for the vehicle owner(s), reduced strain on engines thereby increasing the life of engines and reduced pollution and the consequent improved environment.
The road traffic accident base map information pre-loaded vehicle safety control system as illustrated in fig.4 wherein the said audio and visual alert system comprises of a display, voice synthesizer and text to speech converter for converting the plain text to custom designed voice and alert signals delivered on the speaker through the controller and for activating the liquid crystal display.Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal language text into speech; other systems render symbolic linguistic representations like phonetic transcriptions into speech. Synthesized speech

can be created by concatenating pieces of recorded speech that are stored in a database. Systems differ in the size of the stored speech units; a system that stores phones or diphones provides the largest output range, but may lack clarity. For specific usage domains, the storage of entire words or sentences allows for high-quality output. Alternatively, a synthesizer can incorporate a model of the vocal tract and other human voice characteristics to create a completely "synthetic" voice output. The V8600A is a full-featured voice synthesizer based on RC Systems' Double Talk RC8650 chipset. The V8600A automatically converts plain English ASCII text into a high quality male voice, requiring only a 5 V power supply and speaker for operation. The V8600A is designed to be piggy-backed onto a host PCB, such as a system's controller board, using two 12-pin headers. An 8-bit bidirectional data bus and read/write control pins enable the V8600A to be easily interfaced to virtually any microcontroller bus. Stand-alone applications are also possible with the V8600A's built in printer and serial ports.
The road traffic accident base map information pre-loaded vehicle safety control system as illustrated in fig.2 wherein the said processor is an ARM processor for controlling the plurality of the relay drivers, for processing the signals received from the GPS module and for determining the positional co-ordinates of the vehicle, for comparing the said received data from the GPS receiver to the stored data in the GIS tool, for accessing the presence of the vehicle in the accident prone region, for activating the speed governor units and for correspondingly controlling the speed of the said vehicle, for activating the alert system to provide the visual and audible alert signals to the vehicle user indicating the presence of the vehicle in the accident prone region and for consequently preventing the occurrence of any toward accidents. ARM 7 is the heart of the system because it senses the inputs continuously and the corresponding action is taken. The first parameter is the location identified from the GPS which senses the accident prone zone, according to which the corresponding Engine speed is above the threshold, then the action will be taken by ARM7 is to ON the speed governor system for maintaining speed of the engine and alarm is raised through voice synthesizer with pre-recorded content.

The ARM 7 TDMI is a member of the Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) family of general purpose 32-bit microprocessors, which offer high performance for very low power consumption and price. The ARM architecture is based on Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) principles, and the instruction set and related decode mechanism are much simpler than those of micro programmed Complex Instruction Set Computers. This simplicity results in a high instruction throughput and impressive real-time interrupt response from a small & cost effective chip. Pipelining is employed so that all parts of the processing and memory systems can operate continuously. Typically, while one instruction is being executed, its successor is being decoded, and a third instruction is being fetched from memory.The ARM memory interface has been designed to allow the performance potential to be realised without incurring high costs in the memory system. Speed-critical control signals are pipelined to allow system control functions to be implemented in standard low-power logic, and these control signals facilitate the exploitation of the fast local access modes offered by industry standard dynamic RAMs. The CPU has two instruction sets, the ARM and the Thumb instruction set. The ARM7TDMI is a 3-stage pipeline, 32-bit RISC processor. The processor architecture is Von Neumann load/store architecture, which is characterized by a single data and address bus for instructions and data. The CPU has two instruction sets, the ARM and the Thumb instruction set.
The system for preventing the accidents and for maintaining vehicle control and speed safety mechanisms as illustrated in figs, wherein the said system comprises of driver circuit, level converter circuit, amplifier circuit, relay circuit and protection circuits interfaced between the said processor and the corresponding systems.These circuits vary and depend upon the specification of the devices such as GPS, Speed Sensors, Speed Governor and Voice Synthesizer.AVCSS notifies the user, such as a driver, of the accident-prone locations. For example, when a user, such as a driver, enters a location or area that is an accident-prone location, the user is notified through the system by issuing audible and/or visual notifications when the vehicles have entered and when the vehicles leave a "hot spot." The visual notifications may include the use of displays which show high frequency and medium frequency accident-prone locations. . These visual notifications are super-imposed over the maps displayed on the GPS

devices. The audible notifications may be changed and customized by the device user. Thus, such audible notifications may include stock/standard audible notifications on the device, as well as the ability to apply user-specified customized tones.
AVCSS automatically controls the speed of the vehicle as long as the said vehicle cruises through the accident prone zone through the speed governors for preventing any untoward incidents.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the system and method of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.