Passengers sitting in the rear seat of a car and not wearing seatbelts might also be fined soon, said Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. In an exclusive interview, Gadkari said that although it was mandatory for rear-seat passengers to wear a seatbelt, people have not been following the same. Henceforth, they would be fined because at “any cost, lives have to be saved”. However, he emphasised that fining people was not the goal, but cutting down of road accidents by 50 per cent by 2024 was the aim.
Although a fine of Rs 1,000 is already in place under Article 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), the problem seems to be more about user behaviour and enforcing the regulations. Most people in India overlook belting up in the rear seats of a car, often assuming they are in a much safer place since there is no dashboard or steering wheel right in front of them.
The road transport and highways minister further said he was trying to work with the states to find ways to reduce accidents on National Highways as law and order comes under the state governments.
The government has asked online retail giant Amazon to stop selling devices designed to disable car seatbelt alarms, transport minister Nitin Gadkari told Reuters, citing potential safety risks. Apart from this, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has also written to the consumer affairs ministry to ask e-commerce companies to stop selling devices designed to disable car seat belt alarms, news agency PTI has reported citing a senior government official.
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