Not wearing seat belt on rear seat to attract penalty: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that not wearing seat belts in the rear seats in cars will attract penalty now.

"Earlier, there was a penalty for not wearing seat belt for the driver and co-passenger only, but we have updated the law to include rear seat passengers as well," Gadkari said while speaking at an event.

The minister said that the government will release an official notification in the coming three days detailing the penalty that will be levied on the passenger for not wearing a seat belt.

Gadkari said that the government is in talks with car manufacturers to include a beeper in vehicles of all prices ranges that will go off if passengers in the rear seats do not wear a seat belt.

Government's move comes after the recent death of former Tata Sons chairperson Cyrus Mistry in a tragic car accident on Sunday. As per reports, Mistry was seated in the rear seats and was not wearing a seat belt.

Although not wearing a seat belt by passengers sitting in the rear seats attracts a fine of Rs 1,000 under Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), most people are either unaware of this mandatory rule or just ignore them.

Even traffic policemen seldom fine passengers sitting on rear seats for not wearing seat belts.

According to a recent road ministry report, the number of persons killed and injured due to not wearing a seat belt during 2020 stood at 15,146 and 39,102, respectively.

(With inputs from PTI)