Cyrus Mistry accident: Nitin Gadkari once requested 4 Chief Ministers to wear seat belts

Cyrus Mistry road accident: After the death of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry in a road accident on Sunday, there has been concerns about road safety in India. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at the IAA Global Summit 2022 stated that, the general public needs to change their mindset regarding road security. He focused on how people think that it is not necessary to put a belt on the back seat and further emphasized on the fact that it is a big problem and people sitting in the front and back of the car should wear seat belts. Union Minister then focused on how even Chief Ministers were not taking wearing seatbelts seriously and how even he himself used to break the rules in his youth.

Nitin Gadkari then shared an instance, where he said that 'Leave the common man. I have travelled in the car of 4 Chief Ministers. Don't ask me their names. I was sitting in the front seat and I noticed that there was a clip (socket) at the place of belt placement so that when the seat belt is not worn, its sound does not come. I scolded the drivers and then got the clip removed. The Union Minister said, 'I then banned the manufacturing and sale of such clips. We are taking the help of cricketers, Bollywood stars, and the media to spread awareness among the people.

Also read: Cyrus Mistry death: Anand Mahindra, Sonu Sood bats for wearing rear seat belt

5 lakh accidents every year in India

Expressing grief over the death of Cyrus Mistry, Gadkari said that "he was a very good friend of mine. This is a blow to the country. The problem is that there are 5 lakh road accidents and 1.50 lakh deaths every year. In these deaths, 65 percent of the people are between 18-34 years."

"I too used to break the rules in my youth"

Gadkari also told that in his youth, he himself used to break the rules. Then they didn't know how dangerous it was. Recalling the college days, the Union Minister said that during elections, four people used to roam around on a scooter and used to hide the number plate with their hands so that the challan was not issued.

But now people have to change their thinking and follow the traffic rules. Expressing concern over the poor quality of road construction in some states, Gadkari said state governments are spending Rs 10,000-15,000 crore every year for repairing roads.