Road ministry issues draft rules for mandatory rear seat belt alarms
The Centre has been considering enforcing the use of rear seatbelts after Cyrus Mistry died in a car crash recently
PremiumUnion Ministry of Road, Transport and Highway has issued draft rules to make it mandatory for car makers to install alarm system for rear seat belts. The last date for public comments on draft rules is 5 October, according to the notification.
The Centre has been considering enforcing the use of rear seatbelts after Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, died in a car crash recently. He was sitting in the rear seat and did not have his seat belt on, according to media reports.
Earlier this month, the Union Road and Transport minister Nitin Gadkari directed e-commerce companies to stop selling devices designed to disable car seat belt alarms.
Gadkari said that his ministry is aiming to halve road accidents and related deaths by the end of 2024. The union cabinet minister also said the government hoped to finalise a draft for a mandatory six airbags in all cars this year.
Gadkari said he plans to strictly enforce this rule and will introduce penalties for non-compliance.
In India, one person dies every four minutes in road accidents, the World Bank said last year.
At present, it is mandatory for all vehicle manufacturers to provide seat belt reminders for front-seat passengers.
Although rear seat passengers not wearing a seat belt attracts a fine of ₹1,000 under Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), most people are either unaware of it or just ignore it. Even traffic policemen seldom fine rear seat passengers for not wearing seat belts.
According to a recent road ministry report, the number of people killed and injured due to not wearing a seat belt during 2020 stood at 15,146 and 39,102, respectively.
(With Reuters inputs)
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