On October 18, the Karnataka Police issued orders to impose a Rs 1,000 fine under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act to ensure the mandatory use of seat belts, even by passengers seated in the back seats of a vehicle. The rule is applicable to M1 vehicles such as SUVs, MUVs, hatchbacks, and sedans.

The former chairman of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry, was killed in a car accident on September 4 in Palghar, Maharashtra, which brought attention back to the necessity of using seat belts. Jehangir Pandole, the director of KPMG Global Strategy Group, and Mistry were both seated in the back seat. Mistry and Pandole were not wearing seat belts, and neither survived.

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Repeat offenders to pay fines of at least Rs 2,000

According to a central government order dated September 19 of this year, all car occupants are now required to fasten seatbelts. The Union Ministry’s letter to all the states and union territories was sent days after the tragic accident. According to the ministry, seat belts are safety-critical items that are required to ensure the safety of vehicle occupants. In response to the central government’s order, Karnataka imposed a Rs 1,000 fine on first-time offenders. Whereas, repeat offenders will be required to pay fines of at least Rs 2,000.

All police Commissionerate and SPs of the state were asked to follow the order issued by R Hithendra, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (Road Safety). The use of safety belts is required by Section 194B of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, according to a letter written by S K Geeva, an undersecretary to the Indian government. Further, according to the sub-section 1 of 194B, “whoever drives a motor vehicle without wearing a seat belt or carries passengers not wearing a safety belt shall be punishable with a fine of 1000 INR.”

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In 2022 (till August end), Karnataka has recorded 31 deaths per day as a result of road accidents on an average.  According to the state government, approximately 7,634 people were killed and thousands were injured in road accidents in 2022 through the end of August. The districts of Bengaluru city, Belagavi and Tumakuru reportedly had the highest number of cases.