Road Safety: MoRTH reveals not wearing seatbelt claimed 16,397 lives in 2021

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways revealed in a report a total of 16,397 people died in road accidents in 2021 as a result of not using a seat belt, of which 8,438 were drivers and the rest, 7,959 were passengers (MoRTH). According to the article "Road accidents in India — 2021," a total of 46,593 people died in road accidents in 2021 as a result of not wearing a helmet, of whom 32,877 were drivers and 13,716 were passengers. In all, 4,12,432 traffic incidents occurred in 2021, resulting in 1,53,972 fatalities and 3,84,448 injuries. 

According to the report, not wearing helmet caused injuries to 93,763 persons, and not wearing a seat belt caused injuries to 39,231 persons during 2021. Not using safety devices such as helmet and seat belt does not cause accidents but is critical for averting fatal and grievous injuries in road accidents.

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Helmet is mandatory for all motorists on two-wheelers, barring g few exemptions. Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed in a road accident on September 4 after his car hit a divider in Maharashtra's Palghar district.

Mistry, who and his friend Jahangir Pandole were seated in the rear, wasn't wearing a seat belt and must have been thrown in front at great velocity once the speeding car crashed into the divider. Both Mistry and Pandole died in the accident.

Although not wearing a seat belt by passengers sitting in the rear seats attracts a fine of Rs 1,000 under Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), most people are either unaware of this mandatory rule or just ignore it.

With PTI inputs