Punjab’s Sadak Surakhya Force (SSF), a dedicated highway patrol launched in 2024, is planning to use artificial intelligence, drones, satellite imagery and geospatial technology to build what the state police describes as India’s first 3D policing model for road safety.The force attended 43,983 road accidents between February 2024 and January 2026 and helped 47,386 people, according to Punjab Police. Of those assisted, 19,973 received first aid at the accident site, while 27,413 injured people were shifted to hospitals.Punjab Police said fatalities on highway stretches patrolled by the SSF had fallen by 45 to 48 per cent over the past two years. According to DGP Gaurav Yadav, fatalities on these specific stretches declined from 1,955 in 2023 to 1,016 in 2024, representing around 940 fewer deaths in a year.“Personnel received specialised training, including crash investigation and emergency medical response. For the last two years, reports consistently show a massive 45-48 percent drop in road accident fatalities on the specific highway stretches they patrol. On such SSF-manned roads, fatalities reportedly dropped from 1,955 in 2023 to 1,016 in 2024. That’s approximately 940 lives saved on those specific corridors in about a year,” Yadav said.
How Punjab’s highway force works
The SSF was launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on January 27, 2024, in Jalandhar, with the specific objective of reducing road deaths in Punjab. The force was created at a time when the state was recording an average of 17 to 18 road deaths a day, according to the Punjab Police.Unlike conventional police units, SSF personnel are dedicated to highway safety and are not routinely diverted for general law-and-order duties or VIP deployments.The force currently has more than 1,600 specially trained personnel, including nearly 28 per cent women recruits, and operates 144 high-tech vehicles. Its teams are positioned at intervals of around 30 km across 4,100 km of national and state highways and major district roads.The vehicles are equipped with speed guns, breathalysers, e-challan machines, dash cameras and first-aid kits. The force’s average accident response time is between six and 10 minutes, with the operational target being to reach victims within six to eight minutes.This forms the basis of its “platinum 10 minutes” model, under which personnel provide immediate assistance before an ambulance or hospital takes over.SDGP (Traffic and Road Safety Punjab) Amardeep Singh Rai said the specialised training and exclusive mandate distinguished SSF personnel from regular police.“Regular police are trained for law and order, which is a very different and broad skillset. The SSF, on the other hand, received highly specialised training with a clear, non-negotiable priority: saving lives. The SSF personnel were put through specific training modules on emergency response and first aid, including training from the Red Cross, and are trained in ‘crash investigation’. The entire force is built around one concept: the platinum 10 minutes, which mandates reaching an accident victim within six to eight minutes to provide immediate medical relief before the ambulance or hospital takes over.““In addition, they are not pulled for VIP duty or diverted for local law-and-order issues. Their sole key performance indicator (KPI) is road safety and victim assistance,” he added.Beyond responding to accidents, SSF teams have also assisted in wider policing and public service activities. Punjab Police said the force has recovered contraband, including 6 kg of opium, recovered stolen vehicles and helped return cash and gold to their owners.The personnel have also helped prevent more than 12 suicide attempts and assisted schoolchildren, women travelling late at night and tourists.Phase II to expand highway coverageThe force is now moving towards a second phase of expansion that will increase its coverage from the existing 5,500 km to 6,000 km of state roads.Under its longer-term Vision SSF-2047, Punjab Police plans to create an integrated road safety system combining satellite data, artificial intelligence, drones and geospatial technologies.The proposed 3D policing model is intended to provide real-time situational awareness, identify potential risks and enable faster police responses. The system will use satellite imagery, drones and AI-powered predictive tools for incident mapping, congestion prediction and disaster management.“With an aim of digital enforcement integrating Artificial Intelligence and satellite data, the ‘Vision SSF-2047’ includes achieving minimal road accidents, fully green mobility corridors, and establishing regional research hubs under the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre (PRSTRC),” said the DGP.“The sole target of this project is making Punjab India’s road safety hub using science, systems, and synergy. Punjab Police will use satellite communication and geospatial data for incident mapping, congestion prediction, and disaster management. The SSF is already India’s first dedicated force for highway safety,” said the DGP.He further added, “Under the leadership of the Punjab Government, the state created India’s first fully specialised force for highway safety and changed the way road safety is delivered. We rely on rapid response, professional training, and service-first mandate. We are further exploring the possibilities to integrate it with geo synchronous nanno or micro satellite of our own.”
AI and data at the centre of enforcement
The SSF’s technology infrastructure includes the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS), which integrates AI, Internet of Things sensors and real-time analytics for automated enforcement, surveillance and traffic planning.Automatic Number Plate Recognition-based enforcement, predictive analytics and mobile interceptors are already being used by the police. Punjab Police said these systems have helped bring the average accident response time to under seven minutes.The state’s wider Road Safety Punjab framework is based on a 7E model covering Engineering, Enforcement, Education, Electronics, Emergency Care, Engagement and Evaluation.The approach is intended to move road safety management away from conventional, intuition-based decision-making towards the use of data and technology.The Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre (PRSTRC) is responsible for research, consultancy and training. It works with Research Advisory Groups comprising representatives from academia, industry and civil society.The centre has collaborations with institutions including IITs, NITs, Plaksha University, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College Ludhiana and Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar. These partnerships are intended to support research, joint projects, internships and regional centres of excellence.Yadav said the force’s progress was driven by a change in its operational approach rather than simply new equipment.“The success isn’t just from new vehicles, it’s a shift in philosophy from enforcement to service,” said the DGP.Punjab Police said the SSF’s structure differs from highway policing models in other states. For instance, the Maharashtra Highway Police operates as a modernised wing of the existing state police rather than as a separately constituted force dedicated exclusively to highway safety.The next phase of Punjab’s SSF model aims to combine its existing rapid-response network with AI, drones, satellite data and geospatial technology, as the state seeks to build a wider technology-led road safety ecosystem.
