National News
Nitin Gadkari declares that it is “fine” for passengers in the back who don’t use seat belts.
The Center is also negotiating with automakers to include a beeper that will sound if the person in the backseat is not buckled up.
New Delhi: The national government has decided to punish passengers who do not buckle up in the back seat after the tragic death of former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry in a car accident on Sunday.
“Already, it’s mandatory to wear a seat belt at the rear seat but people are not following it. There will be a siren (or beeper that will go off in the vehicle) if the people at the rear seat don’t wear belts like in the front seats. And if they don’t wear belts, there will be a fine,” Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said in an interview.
Currently, failure to use a seat belt carries a fine for both the driver and the co-passenger; however, back seat passengers are now also subject to the penalty, Gadkari added at the event on Tuesday.
The minister believes that imposing a punishment will raise public awareness because the government wants to cut traffic fatalities by 50% over the next two years. The lowest penalties for the offence would be Rs 1,000, Gadkari added, stressing that lives have to be saved at all costs.
Cyrus Mistry was killed on Sunday in a horrific car accident in the Palghar region of Maharashtra when the Mercedes he was riding in slammed into a wall. Mistry was not wearing a seatbelt while seated in the back seat.
The minister announced that the government would issue a formal announcement outlining the fine that non-seatbelt-wearing passengers would face in the upcoming days.
The Center has frequently taken actions to increase passenger safety, and it now plans to compel automakers to install a minimum of six airbags in vehicles that can accommodate up to eight passengers.
When questioned if the requirement to add airbags in the back will increase prices, Gadkari replied in the negative. “One airbag costs 1,000; six cost 6,000.” The cost will decrease as manufacturing increases. The lives of the people matter more than the cost, he remarked.
The Center is also negotiating with automakers to include a beeper that will sound if the person in the backseat is not buckled up.
Despite the fact that violating Rule 138(3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) results in a punishment of Rs 1,000, the majority of people are either ignorant of or choose to disregard this requirement.
Even the traffic police hardly ever issue tickets to passengers for failing to buckle up in the back.
In 2020, there were 15,146 people murdered and 39,102 people injured as a result of not using a seat belt, according to a recent road ministry data.
