Over 100 fined for not wearing rear seat belt in Delhi as crackdown continues
Crackdown against traffic violators in Delhi NCR continues, especially against those not wearing rear seat belts in cars. The Delhi Traffic Police has issued challans to more than 100 commuters in the last three days for violating the seat belt rule which attracts a fine of ₹1,000. The crackdown, which is also part of the Delhi Traffic Police's road safety awareness drive, began about a week ago. The rear seat belt rule is being enforced strictly after Cyrus Mistry, former Chairman of Tata Motors, died in a car crash reportedly for not wearing seat belts.
Since September 23, Delhi Traffic Police has fined 110 commuters for not wearing rear seat belts. The police has been urging citizens to use seat belts while riding in a car through its social media posts recently. Though not wearing rear seat belts was against traffic rule and attracted fines, many occupants flout this protocol. The enforcement of this rule, so far, has been weak.
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The Centre recently issued a draft rule which, once passed, will make it mandatory for carmakers to install alarm system for rear seat belts. Currently, such an alarm system is only offered for the front seat occupants in most cars.
Besides enforcing the rear seat belt rule, the Delhi Traffic Police has also come down heavily on those who resort to wrong-side driving. As many as 528 drivers have been issued challans for driving on the wrong side of the road in the last three days. The violation attracts a fine of up to ₹5,000.
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 wrong-side driving, or safety oversight from passengers in rear seats. 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.
India is one of the top countries when it comes to number of road accidents or deaths every year across the world. The number of road accidents in India increased by 12 per cent last year compared to 2020. Number of people who lost their lives due to road mishaps went up by nearly 17 per cent from 1.33 lakh deaths in 2020. According to World Bank's statement last year, in India, one person dies every four minutes in road accidents.
