Now, wear a seatbelt when in the rear seat or pay a fine

Following the death of former Tata Sons Chairperson Cyrus Mistry in a tragic car accident on Sunday, September 4, the Union government is in talks to implement new seatbelt protocols for enhanced road safety.

Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, spoke at an event saying,

According to the minister, the government shall release an official statement regarding the penalty that will be levied for not wearing a seatbelt.

Gadkari said that the government will make it mandatory for car manufacturers to introduce a seatbelt alarm system for rear seat passengers, as well as the incorporation of a six-airbag system inside cars. 

According to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau’s 2021 report, over 4,03,000 road accident cases were reported in India in 2021, marking a 16.8% increase from the previous year.

Over-speeding was the major cause of these accidents, with over 87,000 cases reported to have been due to speeding vehicles. 

Cyrus Mistry was killed in the rear seat of a Mercedes-Benz GLC-SUV along with his friend Jahangir Pandole, when the vehicle met with an accident on their way back to Mumbai from Ahmedabad. Dr Anahita Pandole, who was at the wheel, and her husband Darius Pandole suffered injuries and have been hospitalised in Mumbai. Cyrus Mistry and Jahangir Pandole were in the rear seats and none of them was wearing a seatbelt.