Travelling without seatbelt: All car passengers to be fined from today as rule kicks in

Many still in dark; traffic police to create awareness

The traffic police issued a press note on October 14 and also made the announcement about the enforcement on their social media profiles, but not many are aware of the decision still.

Admitting that people need to be made aware, a traffic police official also hinted that they will be creating awareness among motorists. The official said, “We will stop vehicles and create awareness among them. We will also start fining motorists from tomorrow if they do not wear seat belts.”

No rush for rear seatbelts

The Indian Express contacted ten vehicle service centres across the city and found that people approached only two of them to make inquiries about installing rear seat belts in their cars. Kirit from Colaba Auto Centre in Matunga East said, “We had eight to ten cars (come for seat belt installation). Some cars don’t have provisions for seat belts so a lot of alterations have to be made for the same. The government might give them more time…”

Sandesh from Siddhivinayak Garage near Mumbai Central said, “Nowadays, most cars have seat belts installed on the back seats. Some are buried deep in the seats so I’ve had three to four people come to make them more accessible. But no one has come to have seat belts installed.” A Mahindra Service Centre also said that they had received no requests for seat belt installation.

Move upsets taxi unions

The ruling party’s own taxi union is upset with this move. K K Tiwari from BJP Taxi Rickshaw Cell said, “Wearing a seatbelt on the rear seat is not possible. Many times, we have a single customer who may not agree to wear a seat belt. We can’t even refuse the ride because it is so difficult to get a customer in the first place. Secondly, taxis don’t even have seat belts on the rear seats.” When asked what will happen if the government forces taxis to install seat belts to enforce the rule, Tiwari said, “If the government has a lot of funds, they can give them to us and we will install the belts.”

Likewise, General Secretary of Mumbai Taximen’s Union A L Quadros said they can’t force their passengers to wear the seatbelt. “New taxis already have the seat belt, old ones will get it installed. But the rule can’t be implemented from November 1,” he said.