Government to make it mandatory for all passengers in car to wear seatbelts

If you thought you can get away from strapping yourself in if seated on the backseat of a passenger vehicle, it is time for you to think again. Underlining the crucial significance of seatbelts for every single passenger inside a car in the aftermath of former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry's tragic death, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said it would be mandatory for all passengers in a car to buckle up.

At present, traffic enforcement officials are empowered to penalize anyone not wearing a seatbelt while at the front of a car - on the driver or passenger side. But while awareness itself is abysmally low about rear seatbelts, enforcement too is a cause of concern. This will change from now on. “It will now be mandatory for all the people sitting in the car to wear a seat belt," said Gadkari who added that new cars would now have to be equipped with seatbelt reminder beeps even for rear-seat passengers who ignore the seatbelt.

How many road accidents in India each year?

Gadkari has often highlighted the need to bring down road accidents in the country which is one of the worst anywhere in the world. Earlier this year, he had told the Parliament in a written reply that 3,48,279 persons had been injured in 3,66,138 road accidents in 2020, leading to the death of over 1.31 lakh people. More recently, he said that people often underestimate the significant protection provided by seatbelts, even for those seated at the back.

While the government is also planning to make six airbags mandatory across all vehicles and variants, experts believe that seatbelts continue to be the first and most significant line of protection for passengers in a car in the case of an unfortunate event. This is highlighted now more than ever before as Mistry, traveling on the backseat of a Mercedes GLC, was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt at the time the SUV crashed into a barrier before a bridge.