A day after the death of former Tata Group chairperson Cyrus Mistry, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari mentioned several steps that the government plans to take to improve safety measures for car passengers including more airbags and rear seat alarms.
Gadkari's remarks come as Mistry and his friend and the director of the KPMG Global Strategy Group Jehangir Pandole died in the car crash. They were in the rear seat and were not wearing seatbelts. While wearing seatbelts in the back seat is also mandatory in India, it is not actively implemented. The car was being driven by Mumbai-based gynaecologist Anahita Pandole, and her husband Darius was seated in the passenger seat beside her. Despite the car having a head-on collision, the people in the front of the car survived.
In light of the recent accident, here's what Gadkari announced:
Seatbelts compulsory in the backseat
Gadkari said that passengers will be fined for not wearing seatbelts in the rear seat. NDTV quoted him as saying, "Already, it's mandatory to wear a seatbelt at the rear seat but people are not following it... And if they don't wear belts, there will be a fine."
The Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) says that it's mandatory for people in the backseat to wear seatbelts. According to Rule 138 (3) of CMVR states that people "seated in the front seat or the persons occupying front-facing rear seats" need to wear seat belts in a moving vehicle. The violation of this rule makes a person liable for a fine of Rs 1,000.
An official notification for this will be issued this week.
Alarm system for rear seatbelts
The minister said that it will be made mandatory for cars to introduce an alarm if the passengers at the rear don't wear their seatbelts. In most cars, an alarm beeps when people in the front seats are not wearing a seatbelt. Such is not the case with seatbelts in the back seats for most cars.
More airbags
Gadkari also spoke about the costs of introducing more airbags in cars. He was quoted as saying, "Cost of one airbag is 1,000, for six, it's 6,000. With more production, the cost will be reduced. Cost is not important, people's lives are." The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued a statement in January 2022 saying cars needed to be fitted with "side/side torso air bags, one each for the persons occupying front row outboard seating positions, and two side curtain/tube air bags, on each for the persons occupying outboard seating positions."
It had said eight-seater cars would need up to six airbags.
Ban on seatbelt stoppers
Gadkari said that the government was also planning to issue an order to ban seatbelt stoppers that can be inserted into the clip so that the beeping to put in the seatbelt stops. Gadkari said this at the International Advertising Association Summit on Monday. Gadkari was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, "We will not tolerate any compromise on any international standards on road safety and this covers all aspects, road as well as vehicles. I have issued the order to ban the manufacturing and sale of seat belt stopper clips."