ADVERTISEMENT

Mumbai Police Makes Wearing Seatbelts Compulsory For All Car Passengers From Nov. 1

Vehicles that do not have seatbelts, either at the front or rear, have to get them installed by Oct. 31, Mumbai Police said.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>(Photo: Unsplash)</p></div>
(Photo: Unsplash)

The Mumbai Police has made wearing seatbelts compulsory for all car passengers from Nov. 1, according to a notification issued on Friday.

Any violation will attract action under Section 194 (B) (1) of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. Vehicles that do not have seatbelts—either at the front or rear—have to get them installed by Oct. 31, the notification said.

“As per the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, under Section l94 (B) (1), whoever drives a motor vehicle without wearing a safety belt or carries passengers not wearing seatbelts shall be punishable.”

The move comes less than two months after industrialist Cyrus Mistry was killed in a car accident. The former Tata Sons chairman, who was 54, was sitting in the rear seat of a Mercedes-Benz SUV that veered off the road and hit a divider on a bridge near Mumbai.

He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

Also Read: Cyrus Mistry's Death Prompts India To Tighten Lax Driving Rules

Separately, on Sept. 29, India delayed by one year the implementation of the mandatory six-airbag rule for large cars due to global supply chain constraints. The rule was to come into effect from Oct. 1.

According to National Crime Records Bureau data, over 1.55 lakh lives were lost in road crashes across India in 2021—an average of 426 lives daily or 18 every single hour—which are the highest death figures recorded in any calendar year so far.