Delhi traffic police starts drive to mandate rear seat belts, 17 fined

After Cyrus Mistry's death, road minister Nitin Gadkari told Business Standard that the ministry will soon tighten the noose around the travellers who do not wear a rear seat belt

Just days after the death of former Tata Group chief Cyrus Mistry in a road accident near Maharashtra's Palghar, Delhi Traffic Police has started issuing challans for passengers not wearing a seat belt in the rear seats of cars. On Wednesday, 17 offenders were fined. 

 

"A total of 17 court challans were issued during the drive from 11 am to 1 pm under Section 194B (use of safety belts and the seating of children) of the Motor Vehicles Act," a senior police official said. The drive to ensure compliance was conducted on the Barakhamba Road near Connaught Place in central Delhi.

 

On September 4, Mistry died in a road accident. He was sitting in the rear seat of his Mercedes and was not wearing a seat belt, according to the police. 

 

After Mistry's death, road minister Nitin Gadkari told Business Standard at the 'India@75 - Past, Present and Future' conclave in New Delhi that the ministry will soon tighten the noose around the travellers who do not wear a rear seat belt. He acknowledged that containing road accidents has been one area where little success has been achieved. 

 

According to the latest data from NCRB's Crime in India 2021 report, 155,000 people died in accidents on Indian roads in 2021. The total number of road accidents in 2021 was 403,000.

 

In India, wearing seat belts is a legal compulsion. Under Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, a person "seated in the front seat or the persons occupying front facing rear seats" must wear a seat belt. Failure to do so may result in a fine of Rs 1,000.