New Delhi: Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that the government will soon introduce fines for those who are found not wearing a seatbelt in backseats.

“Already, it’s mandatory to wear seat belts at the rear seat but people are not following it. There will be a siren if the people in the rear seat don’t wear belts like for the front seats. And if they don’t wear belts, there will be a fine,” Gadkari told NDTV.

The government is planning to make it mandatory for automakers to introduce a seat belt alarm system for rear seats also, Gadkari said during an event.

Presently, it is mandatory for all vehicle manufacturers to provide seat belt reminders only for front-seat passengers.

“Because of the death of Cyrus Mistry in a car accident, we have taken a decision that there will be a seat belt beep system for the rear seats also in vehicles,” he said while addressing a Business Standard programme to celebrate India@75.

Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed in a road accident on Sunday after his car hit a divider in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.

Passengers unaware of existing penalty

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

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.

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