Rear Seat 3-Point Seatbelts Become Mandatory in India


Thread Starter #1

Nairrk

Honoured Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
14,659
Likes
5,274
Location
Payyanur/Kannur

The government will soon make it mandatory for automakers to provide only three-point seatbelts in all the seats of a car, including for the third passenger seated in the middle of the rear seat, officials in the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) said on Monday.
Currently, only the front seats and two rear seats in most cars produced in the country have three-point seatbelts, which are also called Y-shaped belts. However, the centre or middle rear seat in these cars come equipped with only a two-point or lap seatbelt, similar to the ones provided in aircraft seats. MoRTH is likely to issue a notification in about a month, after which suggestions an d comments will be sought from the public.

“The intent of the government is to improve the overall safety ratings of passenger cars manufactured in India. The ministry found that barring a few models, no vehicle has three-point seatbelts for the passenger seated in the rear middle in India. They only have a lap belt, which we found is hardly effective in case of a crash, thus putting the passenger at great risk," a senior MoRTH official said requesting anonymity.

The three-point seatbelt is scientifically proven to be far safer than the two-point belt as it evenly spreads out the energy of a moving body over the chest, shoulders and pelvis at the time of a collision resulting in lesser injuries.

Automaker Volvo developed the three-point seatbelt and introduced the then-patented seatbelt in its cars in August 1959. However, the company decided to leave the patent open in the greater interest of public safety.

A second ministry official said this will be the second intervention to make cars safer for people after the government recently moved to make six airbags mandatory for all passenger vehicles. “Currently, the average vehicle rating of cars in India is relatively poor and the majority of the models are rated 3-stars or below as per the safety standards," the official said.

On 14 January, the MoRTH issued a draft notification seeking comments from the public and other stakeholders on the proposed rule that will make it mandatory for car makers to provide six airbags.

But experts said that a lot also has to be blamed on passenger behaviour as almost 90% of Indian car passengers risk their safety by not using rear seatbelts at all. Not wearing the rear seatbelts has been a traffic offence under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules for over three decades now, but the spotlight on the importance of rear seatbelts emerged after Union rural development minister Gopinath Munde died in a car accident in 2014.
///
 
Thread Starter #2

Nairrk

Honoured Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
14,659
Likes
5,274
Location
Payyanur/Kannur
Wearing seat belts will be compulsory for all passengers in car: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that wearing seat belts will be compulsory for all the passengers in a car.

Also, the government is planning to make it mandatory for automakers to introduce a seat belt alarm system for rear seats also, Gadkari said.

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 programme to celebrate India@75.

"We will issue a draft notification in 3-4 days (for making it mandatory for automakers to introduce a seat belt alarm system for rear seats also)," Gadkari added.

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.

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.

Indiatvnews
 
Thread Starter #3

Nairrk

Honoured Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
14,659
Likes
5,274
Location
Payyanur/Kannur
MoRTH issues draft rules for mandatory rear seat belt alarms

The Road Transport Ministry on September 21 issued draft rules in a bid to ensure the safety of the passengers. As per the rules, it will be mandatory for car makers to install alarm systems for the rear seat belts.

Prioritising the safety of the passenger-carrying vehicles, the upcoming rules seek to replace the norm for “driver and co-driver safety belt reminder” with “driver and all other front-facing seat occupants safety belt reminder.”

The use of seat belts for both front and rear seat belts is mandatory under Rule 138(3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, failing which they can be fined up to Rs 1000. But passengers at the back use them and enforcement is lax.

The draft rule, once in practice, will make it obligatory for the car manufacturers to install a ‘safety-belt reminder’ or a system dedicated to alerting the driver when the driver and /or all other front-facing seat occupants do not use the safety belt.

The system is constituted by the detection of an unfastened safety belt and by a driver’s alert which is the first level warning.

In July 2019, the seatbelt reminder feature in the car’s security system was made mandatory. If the front seat passengers are not wearing the seat belts, the security system starts giving reminders, indicating that the belts are not fastened.

The latest addition to this rule would be the inclusion of rear seats as well as the recent plan of making six airbags mandatory in the new cars since the airbags deploy only if the seat belts are in use.

Going forward, the Ministry of Road Transport said that the government is also working out a new rule which makes the sales of clips used to restrict the use of seat belts, illegal.

Earlier this year, MoRTH in a statement said that, in order to enhance the safety of occupants of the motor vehicle against lateral impact, it has been decided to enhance safety features by amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989.

The importance of these features further gains precedence in light of the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). As per their record, road crashes accounted for over 1.55 lakh death in the country in 2021, this essentially indicates an average of 426 daily or 18 people losing their lives every single hour due to road accidents.

Commenting on the development, Maruti Suzuki said, “Safety is of paramount importance to us at Maruti Suzuki. We have always advocated the need for wearing seat belt in car both in front & rear. We welcome Govt. of India’s move towards making wearing seat belt mandatory in rear seat.”

Tata Motors added, “We are currently studying the draft amendment that has been published by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. At Tata Motors, we are always committed to passenger safety. It is our constant endeavour to enhance our products and user experience.”

Financial Express
 
Thread Starter #4

Nairrk

Honoured Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
14,659
Likes
5,274
Location
Payyanur/Kannur
Rear seatbelts now mandatory: Karnataka & Mumbai Police - Karnataka Police to slap ₹1, 000 fine on violators

Mumbai and Karnataka Police have issued new guidelines mandating seatbelts for rear seat passengers of cars in Maharashtra and Karnataka respectively. While Mumbai police has issued a press note mandating the use of rear seatbelts from 1st November 2022, Karnataka police has noted that the usage of rear seatbelts comes into effect from 19th of September 2022, and those violating this rule will be fined Rs. 1000 for non-compliance.

On the 18th of October, 2022, R Hithendra, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (Road Safety) Karnataka, issued an order to all police commissionerates and district police heads in Karnataka, to enforce the rule

FireShot Capture 102 - Karnataka & Mumbai Police_ Rear seatbelts now mandatory, fine of Rs. _ ...png

////
 
Thread Starter #5

Nairrk

Honoured Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
14,659
Likes
5,274
Location
Payyanur/Kannur
Seatbelts must for all car passengers in Mumbai from today

All occupants in a vehicle will now have to wear a seatbelt as per the new directives ordered by Mumbai Police. Last month, the police department issued a notification mandating seatbelts in four-wheelers from November 1, 2022. While wearing seatbelts has always been mandatory under the Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, under section l94(B) (1), it's now being seriously enforced in the financial capital of the country and is a punishable offence. The fine for not wearing a seatbelt in Mumbai is Rs. 1,000.

Ssome dailies says that “As per the Maharashtra government notification on the MV Act, a fine of Rs 200 will be imposed for all passengers of a car who are not wearing a seatbelt,” said a police official. Instructions were given Monday to all Mumbai traffic police divisions to impose a fine of Rs 200 on motorists for not wearing seatbelts.

So, if all 5 passengers not wearing seatbelt, then it will attract a fine of Rs.1000 altogether !
 

Top Bottom