Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Tuesday that it will be mandatory for all passengers to wear seat belts, even those at the rear seats. The road ministry has also written a letter to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution to direct the e-commerce companies to ask e-commerce companies to stop selling devices designed to disable car seat belt alarms.

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PTI reported about this development quoting a government official said. The report further said quoting this official that the Central Consumer Protection Authority had sent notices to e-commerce companies selling devices designed to disable car seat belt alarms based on a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) complain in May this year.

Gadkari said, "I have travelled with chief ministers of four different states in the last one year. All of their drivers had clips installed in the cars that subverted the seat belt alarms in their cars."

Seat belt alarm blockers or eat belt alarm silencer is like a clip that can be put into the seatbelt receptacle of your vehicle instead of the actual seat belt. The car sensors detect whether the seat belt buckles are latched or unlatched.

On Tuesday, Gadkari had made announcement in the wake of Tata Sons Former Chairman Cyrus Mistry's tragic death. The Minister has said that the new norms on this will likley be announced soon. Gadkari on Tuesday said that the government is planning to make it mandatory for automakers to introduce a seat belt alarm system for rear seats as well. 

Also Read: Seat belt to be mandatory for all passengers present in car, says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari; rules to come soon

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

It appears that Mistry, who was seated in the rear with his friend Jahangir Pandole, wasn't wearing a seat belt and must have been thrown in front at great velocity as the speeding car crashed into a divider, the PTI report said. Pandole also died in the accident.

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

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

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

Inputs from PTI