Mumbai Traffic Police to penalise people not wearing seat belts from this date
Wearing seat belt for driver as well as co-passengers has become mandatory in India's business capital after Mumbai Traffic Police issued a notice regarding implementation of the traffic rule. The Mumbai Police issued a statement today that says it will penalise those violating the rule. The move comes weeks after the death of Cyrus Mistry, former Chairman of Tata Motors, who was not wearing seat belts when his car crashed near Palghar in Maharashtra killing one more passenger.
The notice issued by Mumbai Police reads, “As per the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, under section 194(B)(1) Whoever drives a motor vehicle without wearing a safety belt or carries passenger not wearing seat belts shall be punishable."
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Mumbai Police has said the rule will be strictly implemented in the city starting from November 1 this year, barely a couple of weeks from now. “All motor vehicle drivers and all commuters in vehicle, whoever travels on the roads of Mumbai City are hereby informed that, it will be mandatory for drivers and all passengers to wear seat belts while travelling from 01/11/2002. Otherwise, action will be taken under section 194(B)(1) of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019," said the notice.
The Mumbai Police has also notified that any vehicles which does not have seat belts for all seats must ensure that they are fitted. The cops have issued a deadline to complete the process which ends on November 1 this year. The notice says, “Accordingly, to install seat belt facility in motor vehicles which do not have seat facility for all commuters, the period is being given till date 01/11/2022."
Recently, other cities too have started to implement the seat belt rule for passengers seating in the backseats of a car. Delhi has been one of the firsts to strictly enforce the traffic rule when safety concerns were raised after Cyrus Mistry's death.
India witnesses the highest number of road accidents in the world every year. In 2021, India saw 1.55 lakh people die due to road mishaps. There have been several cases where people have paid the price for not wearing seat belts even in the backseats.