Crackdown for not wearing rear seat belts continue in Delhi, 40 more fined

Delhi Police continues to crack down on traffic violations regarding rear seat belts in the national capital region. In a drive that started on Wednesday, the city's traffic cops have fined as many as 57 offenders for violating the traffic rule. The Delhi Traffic Police is strictly implementing the rear seat belt rule and impose a fine of ₹1,000 on violators. The move comes days after Cyrus Mistry's death led to stricter implementation of traffic rules around the country.

On Thursday, the Delhi Traffic Police issued challans to 40 commuters for not wearing seat belts in the rear seats of their vehicles. On Wednesday, the police had issued 17 challans to commuters at Barakhamba Road near Connaught Place in central Delhi.

The drive to make commuters aware and implement the road safety measure has been conducted in two districts in the Delhi NCR region, which include New Delhi and Southwest Delhi. In New Delhi, traffic police issued challans to 32 commuters in KG Marg and Mandi House areas. Nine more challans were issued in Palam and Vasant Kunj areas in Southwest Delhi.

The Delhi Traffic Police plans to intensify the drive in coming days. Last week, it urged citizens to always wear seat belts and not overspeed on roads. The drive comes after Cyrus Mistry, former Chairman of Tata Motors, died in a road accident in Maharashtra's Palghar district on September 4. Mistry, who was sitting in the rear seat, was not wearing a seat belt.

Road accident deaths are one of the highest in the norther part of the country. Last year, over 1,900 people died in Delhi in road accidents. Most of these accidents were caused due to drivers' negligence, or safety oversight from passengers in rear seats. According to the Delhi Traffic Police, more than 1.2 crore notices last year to traffic rule violators for not wearing seat belts, over speeding and other offences.

Earlier this month, Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the government is working on making rear seatbelt alarm warning system mandatory. A constant beeping sound will alert the driver and passengers in case someone has not belted up while the car moves. A recent report by the Centre revealed that more than 15,000 people lost their lives in accidents because they were not wearing seatbelts at the rear.