The devices were priced under Rs 249.
New Delhi:
The government has asked online retail giant Amazon to stop selling devices designed to disable car seatbelt alarms, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari told Reuters, citing potential security risks.
While the sale of metal clips is not illegal, such devices and wider road safety issues have come under close scrutiny after Indian tycoon Cyrus Mistry died in a car accident over the weekend.
Local media reported that Mistry was not wearing a seat belt, triggering a debate on road safety in the world’s fourth-largest car market.
In an interview in which Mr Gadkari discussed the planned safety measures, the minister said that metal clips available on Amazon are inserted into the seatbelt slots to bypass the alarm that usually keeps pinging when the seatbelt is on while the car is driving. is not used.
Gadkari said, “People buy clips from Amazon to avoid wearing seatbelts. We have sent a notice to Amazon to stop (selling them),” Mr. Gadkari said.
Amazon did not immediately respond to mail for comment.
Mr Gadkari said that around 150,000 people died in vehicle accidents in India in 2021. The World Bank said last year that there is one death on the roads in India every four minutes.
Gadkari said that India is planning to make seatbelt alarm mandatory for the rear seats not only for the driver and front passenger seats.
Amazon’s India website had several listings on Wednesday for small metal clips, which were described as products that can “elimate” seatbelt alarms across variants and models of the car. The devices cost less than Rs 249 ($3.12).