Passenger in the rear must wear seatbelt too

Mumbaikars don’t think seatbelt is mandatory, says the study

Only 2.4 per cent of the citizens wore rear seatbelts in the city, a research study revealed recently.

As per observations in Mumbai, it was found that 98.2 per cent of people did not use rear seatbelts. Around 90 per cent of Mumbai respondents felt the need for a strict law enforcing the usage of rear seatbelts. The major reason for not wearing rear seatbelts in Mumbai was that people think it is not mandatory to wear the same, a report citing the survey stated.

Even more alarming is that a majority of children in metro cities like Delhi NCR, Kolkata, Bengaluru said they sit alone in the rear seat, while most children in the metros of Chennai and Mumbai said they sit alone in the front seat. A senior transport department official said seatbelts and child restraints are extremely effective at saving the lives of car occupants in the event of a crash.

Let us make this the year of the passenger and pillion rider. Passengers or simply occupants who are in the vehicle, even sitting at the back, need to put their seatbelts on. Here, we must call out taxis which have actually removed their seat belts behind so that three persons can fit in at the back.

There has to be quick and urgent attention to this and we must see that cabs have seatbelts for rear passengers. Occupants in private cars have to belt up, and maybe signage that all passengers need to wear seatbelts will spread awareness. Today, with the pandemic tail still visible, is an opportune time to stress on safety in all aspects of life.

In the same vein, helmets for pillion riders should also be made mandatory. We need people themselves to become more responsible, understand that when an option is available to safeguard oneself it is mandatory to use it and realise that rules are made for good, solid reasons.