9 out of 10 Indians support government’s decision to make rear seat belts mandatory: Study – Times of India

After former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry lost his life in a recent road accident, the debate on whether wearing rear seat belts should be made mandatory or not is gaining momentum. The Union Road Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari has now made it mandatory to wear rear seat belts and the new vehicles will soon feature a beep alarm reminder for people sitting behind without securing themselves with safety equipment. Similarly, a recent survey shows that 9 out of 10 Indians support the mandatory rule of wearing rear seat belts. Here’s what the study found.

Of the 1,100 responses collected by the survey, 75 per cent participants were from top 8 metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad and other respondents were from 14 non-metro cities across the country. 94 per cent of the respondents were male and 74 per cent were in the age group of 18-40 years.
Of these, 93 percent of the respondents supported the government’s intention to wear a mandatory rear seat belt. The sentiment was shared among the respondents from both metro and non-metro cities. 65 per cent considered it a great step while 7 per cent considered the mandate unnecessary. Another 28 per cent felt that the move was welcome, but its practical application would prove to be a challenge at the grassroots level.

Common concerns among respondents:
59 percent of the participants felt that wearing seatbelts would be uncomfortable and even impractical if more than two passengers were seated behind.
According to 40 percent of the respondents, the mandatory rule of wearing seat belts can prove to be a challenge for senior citizens and specially-abled passengers.
38 per cent felt that it would cause inconvenience on long drives.
The survey conducted by CARS24 reached out to participants from 22 cities between 8 and 12 September. What are your thoughts on the information provided here? Let us know in the comments below.