The Mumbai police have made it mandatory for all passengers travelling in a four-wheeler on Mumbai roads to wear a seatbelt. Passengers who do not have seat belt facilities have been given time till 31st October. This decision was taken after the amendment of the motor vehicles (amendment) Act section 194 b1, according to which any person driving without a seatbelt or ferrying passengers without a seatbelt will be fined up to Rs. 1000. The joint commissioner of Mumbai police also released a public notice about the same. Not wearing a seatbelt now in Mumbai, just like in Delhi, may lead to individuals facing punitive action.
Delhi Traffic Police has already carried out several road safety awareness drives in the city to ensure commuters are following the seatbelt-related traffic rules. At one point, the Delhi Police fined nearly 25 people for not wearing seatbelts in the rear seat of the car, making an official announcement of this action on its Twitter handle.
The rule has been implemented from a safety standpoint, and this rule was made mandatory five weeks after the death of the very eminent industrialist Cyrus P. Mistry in a road accident that occurred on September 4 in a speeding vehicle while travelling from Gujarat to Mumbai. Sometime prior to that, on August 14 the prominent Maharashtra politician Vinayak Mete had been killed in a road accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, en route to Mumbai.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari made an announcement that wearing seat belts would be mandatory for all passengers in a car and including those in the rear seats, and flouting the rule will attract a penalty. He also informed that safety alarms that typically beep when passengers do not wear seatbelts in the front seat, will now also be fitted in for rear seat passengers. This rule will be applicable to all big and small cars.
We often do not understand the importance of following such life-saving rules until something serious happens! Thankfully yet, unfortunately, the death of Mr Mistry has woken the law authorities up to impose such important habits onto the citizens.
© Vygr Media Private Limited 2022. All Rights Reserved.
