Nitin Gadkari: Seat Belts Mandatory For All Passengers In A Car, Violators Will Be Fined.

NEW DELHI: Seat belts are compulsory for all vehicle passengers and those sitting in the back of a car and not wearing a seat belt will be fined soon, announced Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday.

The announcement was made two days after Cyrus Mistry died in a car crash near Mumbai.

Former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry, was reportedly sitting in the back seat and was not wearing a seat belt, when his speeding Mercedes-Benz GLC hit the railing of a bridge over the Surya river at Charoti in Palgar district of Maharashtra on Sunday.

The 7 airbags of the car had deployed but since the rear passengers, including Mistry, were not wearing seat belts, the impact proved fatal for them when the driver lost control.

"Already, it's mandatory to wear seat belt at the rear seat but people are not following it. There will be a siren if the people at the rear seat don't wear belts like for the front seats. And if they don't wear belts, there will be a fine," said Gadkari in an exclusive interview with NDTV, stressing that "at any cost, lives have to be saved".

Spreading awareness is the primary motive but taking fines is not, said Minister Gadkari, on the compulsory use of seatbelts for those sitting in the back. He said the goal is to reduce the road fatalities by 50 per cent within 2024.

"I am really very sorry and feeling bad. We should take the lesson and learn from it," said Mr Gadkari on Cyrus Mistry's death in the car accident.

The Minister, responding to a direct question on what the fine for not wearing a rear seat belt would be, said, "The minimum fine is Rs 1,000." He also implied that enforcement of a fine will not be problematic since state governments, with say in the matter, were supportive.

"There are cameras and anywhere people who aren't following can be caught easily," said Mr Gadkari.

The Transport minister also emphasized that people's lives were more important than cost of airbags when asked if compulsory installation of airbags in the back seat will drive up the cost.

"Cost of 1 airbag is 1,000, for 6, it's 6,000. With more production, the cost will be reduced," he said.

As per the regulations, airbags are mandatory for the front passenger and the driver in India. As of January 2022, the government has made it mandatory to install 6 airbags in each passenger car with a passenger limit of up to 8.

More than 11 per cent of deaths and injuries were caused due to non-usage of seat belts in four- wheelers, while around 30 per cent of deaths and 26 per cent of injuries on two- wheelers were caused due to non-usage of helmets in 2020, according to a report titled 'Road accidents in India – 2020'.

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