Following the untimely death of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry in a car crash Sunday and the fact that a majority of people sitting on the rear seat of a car do not wear seat belt, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said on Tuesday that rear seat occupants not wearing seat belt will soon be penalised.
The minister said that a notification in this regard will be issued in the next three days.
“A notification will be issued in the next three days that if one doesn’t wear a seat belt while sitting on the rear seat of a car, he or she will be penalised. After the tragic case of Cyrus Mistry, I have decided that there will be an alarm for seat belt on the rear seat like the driver’s seat. A penalty will be imposed for not wearing seat belt while sitting on the rear seat of a car,” Gadkari said while talking to the media.
At present there is a penalty for the driver and the co-passenger for not wearing a seat belt, but this rule has been updated to include rear seat passengers as well.
The government aims to reduce road fatalities by 50 percent in the next two years. “At any cost, lives have to be saved,” Gadkari said, adding that the minimum fine for the offence would be Rs 1,000.
