When my children were much younger, cars in India did not have seatbelts. Whenever I had to brake hard, my left hand would shoot out instinctively to protect them. Today, thankfully cars have seat belts but sadly most people are unaware that wearing your seatbelt in the back/rear seats is also mandatory as per rule 138 (3) the Motor Vehicles Act. Sign my petition.

The tragic death of Cyrus Mistry, the former Chairperson of the Tata Group, in a road accident on the weekend has shaken many of us to our core. Mr. Mistry was sitting in the rear seat, and the two people who survived were sitting in front with seatbelts on. 

All cars today have rear seatbelts as per government regulation, but very few people use them. With this latest fatal accident, the illusion that the rear seat is safe has finally shattered. A study conducted by SaveLIFE Foundation in 2019 across 11 cities which included 6,306 respondents found that only 7% said they used rear seatbelts. Only 27.7% of the respondents were aware that their use was mandatory. Of the parents surveyed who reported that their child sits on the rear seat, 77% reported that they sit without a rear seat-belt.

I’ve read that when a crash occurs, the person behind is sometimes thrown at a force of 40G (40 times the gravity, which means the person weighing 80kgs will be like 3200kgs. As per the World Health Organisation, the use of rear seatbelts can prevent the death of rear-seat passengers by 25%.

When we are paying for seatbelts, why are we the public not using them?!!

Sign my petition urging the Minister for Road, Transport and Highways to 

• Issue a legal notification to all car manufacturers to include a rear seatbelt reminder so that an alarm notifies the car occupants if all seatbelts are not firmly secured
• Make it mandatory as per government regulations for 6 airbags to be provided in all cars, not just in high-end cars
• Write to all state governments to implement rule 194(b) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 2019 on the use of safety belts
• Launch a nationwide public awareness campaign on the importance of using seatbelts in rear seats too.

I have the greatest respect for Shri Nitin Gadkari and I believe that if thousands of Indians sign this petition, he will be inclined to look into this matter. After all, this petition is merely asking the government to simply implement the law it made. 

It’s sad that only a tragedy like Mr Mistry’s death wakes us up. There are so many more accidents waiting to happen. I wish no one has to die for laws to be implemented.

#WearSeatbeltsInBackseatToo