Centre issues draft rules for mandatory rear seat belt alarms: Report

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued draft rules making it mandatory for car makers to install alarm system for rear seatbelts. The last date for public comments on the draft rules is October 5, Reuters reported.

The Narendra Modi government has been pushing for more measures to ensure road safety after former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident on September 4 in Maharashtra’s Palghar. According to police officials, Mistry was seated at the back and was not wearing rear seatbelt.

Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had already announced that wearing seat belt at the back seat will be mandatory for all and the violators will be punished. In a video shared by him on Twitter, the minister had informed that the safety alarms that beep for the passengers who don’t wear seat belts in the front seat, will do the same for back seat passengers too.

The Centre has already sent notices to e-commerce platforms asking them to stop selling devices which disable seat belt alarms.

The Delhi Traffic Police has been carrying out checks in the national capital, imposing ₹1,000 fine on the passengers found not wearing rear seat belts.

Cab aggregators Ola and Uber have also instructed their drivers to ensure the rear seat belts in the back seats of their cars are visible and fully functional. Uber is also carrying out surprise checks at airports to ensure the drivers are following the seat belt norms.

According to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, more than 1.55 lakh lives were lost in road crashes across the country last year. It means an average of 426 daily or 18 every single hour. According to the report titled Road accidents in India — 2020, more than 11 per cent of the deaths and injuries were caused due to non-usage of seat belts.