Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident. Mistry was traveling in his SUV in the back seat with his friend Jehangir Pandole. However, reports confirm that Cyrus Mistry was not wearing a seat belt, and the application of which could have saved his life. Also, reports have claimed that they must have been thrown at the rear seat of the front seat with great speed as the SUV would have lost speed after hitting the divider. Both Mistry and Pandole could not survive in the accident and according to experts, the cause of their death is being told not to wear seat belts.
Although passengers in the rear seats not wearing seat belts attract a fine of Rs 1,000 under Rule 138(3) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), most people are either unaware of this mandatory rule or simply ignore them. give. Even traffic policemen rarely fine passengers sitting in the back seats for not wearing seat belts.
KK Kapila, President Emeritus, International Road Federation, said that the practice of wearing seat belts in the back seat is very rare even in big cities and metros and almost zero in the middle of smaller cities of India.
According to preliminary investigation, Mistry was not wearing a seat belt and was driving at high speed and an “error of judgment” by the driver caused the accident.
Also Read – Cyrus Mistry Death: Wearing Seat Belt In Back Seat Of Car, What Does The Law Say?
The government is taking measures to enhance the safety of people in motor vehicles and now it intends to make it mandatory for car manufacturers to provide at least six airbags in motor vehicles up to 8 passengers from this October to enhance the safety of passengers. can take. year.
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system that intervenes between the driver and the vehicle’s dashboard during a collision, preventing serious injuries.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had said in an interview with PTI last year that the government would introduce at least six airbags in motor vehicles that can carry 8 passengers despite protests from the automobile industry.
Gadkari had said that small cars, which are mostly bought by the lower middle class people, should also have adequate number of airbags and thought that automakers were providing eight airbags only in big cars bought by rich people. Huh.
“Mostly, lower-middle class people buy small economy cars and if their car will not have airbags and when accidents happen, it can result in death. Therefore, I ask all car manufacturers to provide at least six airbags. All types and segments of vehicle,” he had said.
Earlier this year, to enhance the safety of riders in motor vehicles, Gadkari had said that the government has made it mandatory for automakers to provide three-point seat belts for all front passengers in the car.
He said that this rule will also be applicable for the middle seat in the back row of the car.
Since overspeeding is one of the biggest killers on Indian roads, the government has also imposed different speed limits for different categories of roads.
At present, the maximum speed limit notified by the Ministry of Road Transport is 100 kmph for cars on national highways and 120 kmph on expressways.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, under ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India – 2021’, most (59.7 per cent) road accidents are due to over speeding, with 87,050 deaths and 2.28 lakh injuries.
While more than 1.55 lakh people lost their lives in road accidents across India in 2021, dangerous or reckless driving or overtaking contributed to 25.7 per cent of road accidents, causing 42,853 deaths and 91,893 injuries.
National Road Safety Council member Kamal Soi said that while India has adequate road safety standards to ensure road safety on roads, the problem lies in implementing those standards.
“There is rampant corruption in road construction, which leads to poor unsafe roads, leading to many accidents and deaths,” he said.
With inputs from PTI