Not wearing a seat belt when travelling in a four-wheeler? Be ready to pay fine as Maharashtra highway police cracks the whip

On an average, 500 cases are registered in a day on the Pune-Mumbai expressway against people for not wearing seat belts.

The state highway police have tightened the noose around passengers who don’t wear seat belt while travelling on a four-wheeler. The Pune-Mumbai expressway has recorded the highest number of violators, according to the highway traffic police. On an average, 500 cases are registered in a day on the Pune-Mumbai expressway against people for not wearing seat belts.

An awareness campaign was carried out by the highway police before action was initiated, said Tawde (HT FILE PHOTO)

People who are not wearing helmets while riding on a two-wheeler and those who speak on the mobile phone while riding or driving will also be caught by the police.

"From all the 11 districts (under my jurisdiction), we are recording on an average of 900 cases (of seat-belt rule violations) on a daily basis. The number includes all highways in the region (11 districts). But around 500 cases are from the Pune-Mumbai Expressway alone," said Amol Tambe, superintendent of police of highway traffic, Pune region. According to Tambe, action is being taken against passengers in the rear end of the car if they are not wearing seat belt. They are also required to do so, he said.

An awareness campaign was carried out by the highway police before action was initiated, said Tawde.

"For a few days, we tried to tell people to wear seat belts. When it did not work, we started taking action. There is a supreme court ruling in this regard as well," he said. According to officials, the fine for not wearing seat belt as per Section 177 of Motor Vehicle Act is ₹200 for every offender.

The action was initiated in the third week of September, soon after former commissioner of Pune police, Rashmi Shukla, Indian police service (IPS) officer, was appointed as additional director general of police, traffic. However, her stay in the state traffic office was short after she was appointed as the state intelligence commissioner.

“ All passengers, including rear seat, should be wearing seat belt. If the driver is wearing seat belt and the passengers are not, he or she will be fined as per the motor vehicle act," he added.

When the action was in its initial phase, the number of cases per day was 50 which later increased to 100 and is now around 500 cases per day. SP Tambe said that the drive would be an ongoing affair.

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Expressway accidents

Established in 1999, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway has seen close to 1,500 deaths in the past seven years.

2016: As many as 151 people lost their lives in 91 accidents on Pune-Mumbai expressway. There were total 281 serious accidents reported in the year

2017: 105 persons were killed. Total accidents on expressway were 360.

The police have identified 52 black spots along the expressway and aim to introduce measures to curb accidents on these spots.