The Indian government has requested Amazon to stop selling devices that are designed to turn off car seatbelt alerts. The transport minister Nitin Gadkari is rolling out new rules and measures related to road safety following the recent death of ex- Tata Chairman, Cyrus Mistry in a car crash.
Gadkari has asked the e-commerce site to put the sale of devices like metal clips which are inserted in seatbelts to turn off the seat belt on hold. Cars these days come with an alarm that keeps beeping till you wear your seat belt. People who don’t like the sound often buy devices to block the noise.
In an interview with Reuters, Gadkari said, “People buy clips from Amazon to avoid wearing seatbelts. We have sent a notice to Amazon to stop (selling these).”
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2021 report, there were 1,55,622 fatalities, which is a record high since 2014, and 69,240 of those deaths were related to two-wheelers. The annual report of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (21-22) also ranked India first in road deaths across 199 countries reported in the World Road Statistics, 2018.
Additionally, a World Bank report also stated that India records a death toll due on roads every four minutes.
The recent tragedy following the death of business tycoon Cyrus Mistry in a road accident near Palghar district of Maharashtra has also shaken road safety measures. Notably, he was resting in the back seat and was not wearing the rear seat belt. Both the passengers seated at the back died while their friends sitting in front were seriously injured.
The incident also shed light on the car safety features which are available for cars retailing in India. While there are seat belts and airbags present in the front row, no seat belt or air bag safety is provided in the back seats. This further risks the chances of a fatality for passengers sitting at the back.
But now the government is planning to make it mandatory to wear rear seat belts. Gadkari also questioned the car manufacturers why there are only 4 air bags available in the India version instead of 6. He further cited that it costs only Rs 900 to add the additional bags, and there is still a big ignorance of safety. Meanwhile, the ministry is planning to impose a law to make it mandatory to install 6 airbags for Indian cars.
However, the question which still prevails is will people wear rear seat belts? In a country like India, people only follow rules if they are imposed with fines. Even wearing a seatbelt at the driving seat is not followed unless there’s a fine of Rs 1,000. Irony is people will again take the decision of wearing a seat belt in the rear seat as a burden.
