Some entrepreneurial journeys begin with ambition. Others begin with a question that refuses to be ignored. For Sankalp Upadhyay, a student entrepreneur from India and the Founder of DriveGuard Systems, that question was both simple and urgent: why do preventable road safety violations continue to cost thousands of lives every year despite laws and awareness campaigns?
That question became the starting point of a mission focused not on ideas alone, but on building technology that can save lives at scale.
A Problem Seen Up Close
Coming from a tier-3 city in India, Sankalp Upadhyay witnessed firsthand how gaps in enforcement and accountability often undermine road safety efforts. Seatbelt laws exist, awareness exists, yet compliance remains inconsistent. The result is a tragic and recurring loss of life that could have been avoided.
Rather than accepting this as a systemic flaw beyond individual control, Sankalp chose to approach it as an engineering and enforcement problem—one that technology could help solve.
Building Against Constraints
Starting young and operating outside major startup hubs, Sankalp faced challenges that define many deep-tech founders from emerging regions:
- Limited access to early-stage capital
- Restricted infrastructure for hardware development
- Minimal exposure to industry networks and mentors
Building a hardware-led deep-tech startup under these conditions required persistence, disciplined learning, and constant iteration. Every limitation became a reason to think more carefully about design, scalability, and real-world deployment.
The Creation of BuckleShield
These efforts led to the development of BuckleShield, a patent-pending Intelligent Seatbelt Monitoring and Enforcement System. Designed to address one of the most common yet overlooked safety violations, BuckleShield focuses on ensuring proper seatbelt usage through intelligent monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.
Instead of relying solely on awareness or manual enforcement, BuckleShield introduces a scalable, technology-driven solution that aligns behavior with safety outcomes.
This product reflects DriveGuard Systems’ broader philosophy: meaningful safety improvements require systemic solutions, not temporary fixes.
Recognition and Validation
Sankalp Upadhyay’s work with DriveGuard Systems has received recognition across respected platforms, including:
- Rajasthan IT Day
- Digital Rajasthan Yatra
- National media coverage
These acknowledgments serve not just as milestones, but as validation of a problem-first approach rooted in real-world impact.
A Founder’s Approach to Innovation
At the core of Sankalp’s journey is a clear mindset—persistence, problem-first thinking, and long-term commitment. He believes that mobility safety cannot be improved through isolated interventions. It requires solutions that integrate seamlessly into systems, scale responsibly, and enforce compliance without friction.
DriveGuard Systems is built on this belief, focusing on technologies that strengthen accountability while supporting safer mobility ecosystems.
Advancing the Future of Mobility Safety
DriveGuard Systems represents a growing effort to reduce road fatalities through intelligent, enforceable, and scalable technology. Under Sankalp Upadhyay’s leadership, the company continues to work toward solutions that address root causes rather than symptoms.
By combining deep-tech innovation with a clear social purpose, DriveGuard Systems is shaping a future where safety is not optional, but built into the system itself.
About the Founder
Sankalp Upadhyay is a student entrepreneur from India and the Founder of DriveGuard Systems, a mobility safety startup focused on reducing road fatalities through technology. His work centers on hardware-led innovation, systemic safety solutions, and long-term impact.
