The recent death of Cyrus Mistry in a car crash has brought into sharp focus the issue of rear passenger seat belts and overspeeding. Data from FIRs filed between 2018 and 2020 shows that not wearing seatbelts was one of the major cause of fatalities in crashes.Of the 60,466 car fatalities during this period, 50% of victims were passengers. The Motor Vehicles Act section 381(3) mandates occupants on front seats and those occupying front facing rear seats must wear seatbelts while the vehicle is in motion. Currently it is mandatory for vehicle manufacturers to provide seat belt audio reminders for only the front seat occupants, this should be made compulsory for even the rear seat passengers. The deployment of airbags would prove counterproductive and dangerous if car occupants are not wearing seat belts. Adherence to extant laws is also poor because the penalty for not wearing seatbelts is a mere Rs1,000, this should be increased at least ten fold to act as an effective deterrent. A massive multiplatform media campaign should also be launched to raise public awareness. Folks, always buckle up when driving or being driven, your life depends on it...literally.
