17 people issued challans for not wearing rear seat belt in Delhi

The Delhi Traffic Police on Wednesday carried out a two-hour prosecution drive in central Delhi, during which they issued 17 challans to people for not wearing their seat belts in the rear seats of their vehicles

The Delhi Traffic Police on Wednesday carried out a two-hour prosecution drive in central Delhi, during which they issued 17 challans to people for not wearing their seat belts in the rear seats of their vehicles.

TOPSHOT - A Delhi police barrier blocks a street during a Delhi state-wide weekend curfew imposed by the authorities to curb the spreading of the Covid-19 coronavirus in New Delhi on January 8, 2022. (Photo by Prakash SINGH / AFP) (AFP)

Officials said the drive was carried out on Barakhamba Road near Connaught Place. Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Aalap Patel said traffic personnel carried out the drive between 11 am and 1 pm, during which they stopped cars in which the passengers seated on the rear seats were found not wearing the seat belts, thus violating traffic norms.

“Our personnel issued 17 court challans to the drivers and owners of the cars under section 194B (use of safety belts and the seating of children) of the Motor Vehicles Act. The violation attracts a fine of ₹1,000. The fines were not collected on the spot. Those prosecuted will have to pay the fines in the courts,” said DCP Patel, adding that similar drives will take place in other parts of the city soon.

The police actions comes close on the heels of the death of former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry, who was killed along with his friend Jahangir Pandole in a car crash on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway at Palghar, Maharashtra on September 4. Initial police investigations suggest that neither Mistry nor Pandole, both of whom were sitting in the rear seat, were wearing their seat belts.

According to DCP Patel, the Delhi Traffic Police has over the past week running campaigns and issuing advisories through various platforms such as social media, advertisements, and messages on FM channels, asking people to wear seat belts while travelling in their cars, both in the front and rear seats. Traffic personnel have also stopped cars to sensitise their occupants about the importance of wearing the seat belts, Patel said.

“Legal provisions for not wearing the rear seat belts were already there but it has become a topic of discussion after the tragic death of Mistry. We were already running a campaign to spread public awareness regarding the importance of wearing seat belts. We are also taking legal action,” said Patel.

The Delhi Traffic Police also carried out a drive against vehicles having tinted glasses/glass films beyond permissible limits, driving by minors and driving on the wrong carriageways. During the drive, they booked 26 violators for tinted glasses while one owner of a vehicle was prosecuted after the vehicle was found being driven by a minor.

Last week, in a bid to promote the wearing of seat belts, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari had said that the Centre was planning to make seat belt beepers for the rear seats mandatory in vehicles. The minister had also said that the government will hire private third-party expert firms to conduct audits of identified and potential black spots in the country’s highways and expressways — starting with the Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway, where Mistry was killed.