NEW DELHI: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday announced Centre’s plan to introduce seatbelt alert for passengers on the rear seat, in a bid to enhance road safety measures.
The decision came after former chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry passed away in a road accident on Sunday on the National Highway in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
The incident has once again put the spotlight on not only the high number of fatalities that Indian roads witness every year but also reignited concerns about the poor state of the country’s roads as well as hazards of not wearing a seatbelt in the rear seat.
Experts have pressed for the need to keep a check on speeding vehicles and making the use of seat belts for rear passengers mandatory. They have also stressed that roads should have consistent designs to avoid any accidents.
The decision came after former chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry passed away in a road accident on Sunday on the National Highway in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
The incident has once again put the spotlight on not only the high number of fatalities that Indian roads witness every year but also reignited concerns about the poor state of the country’s roads as well as hazards of not wearing a seatbelt in the rear seat.
Experts have pressed for the need to keep a check on speeding vehicles and making the use of seat belts for rear passengers mandatory. They have also stressed that roads should have consistent designs to avoid any accidents.
The non-compliance of seat belt laws not only puts the vehicle occupants’ lives at risk, their kin, in case of an accident, may also end up getting lower compensation from motor accident claims tribunals for “violation” of rules.
While the rule for compulsory wearing of seat belts by the driver and the front seat passenger was prescribed in 1993, the government made wearing of rear seat belts mandatory from October 2002.
However, compliance remains low due to poor enforcement of the rule. In 2019, the government increased the fine for not wearing seat belts to Rs 1,000, but that has also not helped to improve compliance.