Rs 1,000 fine if found without wearing rear seat belt in Karnataka

Bengaluru, Oct 20: Coming down heavily on defaulters, the Karnataka polics has imposed a Rs 1,000 fine for not wearing seat belts on the rear car seats of SUVs, MUVs, hatchbacks, and sedans.

The Karnataka police issued an order to top officers to impose a Rs 1,000 fine from Wednesday, as per a report in Hindustan Times.

The report also said that additional director general (road safety) R Hithendra cited a September 19 letter from the Union road transport and highways ministry. In the letter, the ministry sought the mandatory use of seat belts on rear seats.

Seat belts are safety-critical items and essential for ensuring the safety of the occupants of vehicles, the letter stated.

The seat belt on the rear seat was a topic of discussion when former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed in a road accident in Maharashtra's Palghar district in September. It was reported that time that he was not wearing a seat belt when the car met with an accident.

Following the incident, the Centre ordered to enforce of strict rear seat belt use.