NEW DELHI, Feb 10: The government has made it mandatory for automakers to provide three-point seat belts for all the five front-facing passengers in a car including for the passenger at the middle seat in the rear row of a car, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said at a press conference on Thursday.
“I have signed a file yesterday to make it mandatory for automakers to provide three-point seat belts for all the front facing passengers in a car,” he said. He did not mention about the date from which the new requirement will come into force.
Presently, only the front seats and two rear seats in most cars produced in the country have three-point seat belts. However, the centre or middle rear seat in these cars come equipped with only a two-point or lap seat belt, similar to the ones provided in aircraft seats.
Last month, the ministry said it would make it mandatory for carmakers to provide a minimum of six airbags in motor vehicles that can carry up to 8 passengers for enhanced safety of occupants from October this year.
As many as 1.5 lakh people die every year in 5 lakh road accidents in the country and need of the hour is to create mass awareness for road safety measures by information dissemination, Gadkari said. According to him, a system is being proposed for star rating of vehicles based on the standards and protocol to improve safety.
Electronic Stability Control, Advanced Emergency Braking Systems, ease of mobility for Divyangjan, Driver Drowsiness Attention Warning System (DDAWS), Blind Spot Information System, Advanced Driver Assisting system and Lane Departure Warning System, are among the safety initiatives being implemented, he said. He also emphasised the importance of reducing sound pollution and use of electric vehicles.
(Manas Dasgupta)
