Seat Belt Alarm System: Government is planning to mandate warning beepers for rear seats - Nitin Gadkari

The death of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry in a road accident has raised the issue of mandatory rear seat belts. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that it is preparing to make it mandatory for car companies to alarm even if they do not wear back seat belts. At present the alarm is mandatory only for the front seat belt.

Vehicles will have seat belt beep system

Addressing an event, he said, "Due to the death of Cyrus Mistry in a car accident, we have decided that vehicles will have a seat belt beep system for the rear seats as well." Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident on Sunday when his car rammed into a divider in Maharashtra's Palghar district. 

Rear seat belt alarm mandatory

Gadkari said, "In view of the death of Cyrus Mistry in a road accident, we have decided to make rear seat belt alarm also mandatory." If the alarm goes off in the case of not wearing a belt in the back seat of the cars, then people will be motivated to put on the belt. He has also talked about making six airbags mandatory in all cars.

"The same company makes six airbags in models made for export and four in models sold in India," he said. Is our life cheap? An airbag costs only Rs 900. In bulk, this price comes down even more. Emphasis will also be placed on compliance with the law in case of people sitting in the back seat not wearing seat belts. 

Fine for not wearing seat belt

Although passengers in the rear seats not wearing seat belts attract a fine of Rs 1,000 under Rule 138(3) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), most people are either unaware of this mandatory rule or simply ignore them. give. Even traffic policemen rarely fine the passengers sitting in the back seats for not wearing seat belts. 

According to a recent Road Ministry report, the number of people killed and injured for not wearing seat belts during 2020 stood at 15,146 and 39,102 respectively. 

There is a need to change the mindset of the people

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also stressed on the need to change the mindset of the people regarding rear seat belts. Recalling an old anecdote, he said, 'Leave the common man, even the honorable is careless in this matter. I have traveled with four chief ministers in their car. Very few people are aware about seat belts. Once I was in the front seat. I noticed that there was a clip in there, which is why the seat belt alarm didn't go off. I asked the driver and put on the seat belt. And now I have banned the making and selling of such clips. People do not even consider the back seat belt as necessary.