[CarNerd]

Even if it's a 6-Point Seat Belt, how many of us actually wear them? Instead of laws, I think car manufacturers should implement a proper system that would detect the number of passengers inside the car and prevent the car from running unless all of them wear their Seat Belts. I know this would be costly but if everyone starts doing it, the cost would come down. No amount of Policing or Road Safety Education is going to be 100% effective. Technology is the only thing that can prevent/reduce accidents.

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

Even if it's a 6-Point Seat Belt, how many of us actually wear them? Instead of laws, I think car manufacturers should implement a proper system that would detect the number of passengers inside the car and prevent the car from running unless all of them wear their Seat Belts. I know this would be costly but if everyone starts doing it, the cost would come down. No amount of Policing or Road Safety Education is going to be 100% effective. Technology is the only thing that can prevent/reduce accidents.

We are the same set of people who will go straight from the showroom to an FNG to disable the speed alert chimes.

No amount of implementation from manufacturer will help unless the occupants of the car understand the safety aspects of their actions.

I would say there needs to be more onus on users in such aspects.

[ads11]

Excellent new rule - seat belts are the low hanging fruit of making yourself safer in a car, yet we have totally outdated attitudes towards them for the most part in India. I remember when we moved back to India in 1999, mum was scoffed at by the mechanics for insisting on having seat belts retrofit to her old Maruti 800 and dad's old Omni.

Even now I always find myself quietly fuming whenever I'm in a cab or a car in India with aftermarket seat covers - they always hide the rear belt buckles, or bury them in the boot! I would wish they take the regulations a step further in the sense any aftermarket seat covers must maintain access to the rear seat belts. If the ministry can introduce rules regarding aftermarket fitments, surely introducing one about seat covers can at least go some way towards putting safer standards of product out there that some segment of the public will start purchasing by default. Better yet, please make it mandatory in cabs!!

[Amrik Singh]

Does it really matter that Government looks after safety points in the Cars only - and not on the users ? We see small kids who cannot be tucked in the seat belts, enjoying the front seat. Not just the front seat, the cosy lap of their mothers. I have also seen the driver seating a child between his own legs. All efforts to add number of Seat belts or Air bags are futile unless the users are educated and laws strictly enforced against erring drivers.

[ron178]

For those who aren't convinced of how dangerous the current two-point static lapbelt is:

Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc.

On the evening of August 14, 2002, the Williamson family driving in their 1993 Mazda MPV minivan, were struck by a Jeep Wrangler from the opposite direction. The Jeep was being towed by a motor home and came loose, crossing over into the Williamson's lane and causing a head-on collision. Delbert Williamson, the petitioner, was driving, while his wife Thanh and daughter Alexa were seated in the first row of seats behind him. Each passenger was wearing the appropriate seat belt per position. Delbert and Alexa were equipped with Type 2 seat belts which consist of lap and shoulder restraints. Thanh, seated in a middle position, was only equipped with a Type 1 seat belt which consists of just a lap belt. As the vehicles collided, Thanh's body was said to "jackknife" over her lap belt, causing internal bleeding and eventual fatal injuries. Delbert and his daughter Alexa both survived the accident because of the type 2 seat belt they were able to use in their seated position.

A legal provision for FMVSS 208 was then enacted in September 2007 requiring vehicles to have lap and shoulder belts for all seats in the rear of the vehicle.

[frewper]

This is a very welcome move. Several reasons are its very difficult to make people sitting in the back belt up. Its not just family who sits in the car, sometimes its friends or relatives etc. Even if you as a driver insist for safety aspects, the passenger just kills the entire conversation saying its not mandatory then why bother. At that point you wont have the time and energy to explain to them the reasons for belting up.

Atleast now you can just end the conversation saying either you belt up or you pay the fine if we are caught. A welcome decision for all those difficult situations convincing someone to belt up, especially the elderly folks.

[karthi.stark]

Going against the tide, I personally do not believe that making 3-point seatbelts mandatory would significantly reduce serious injuries and deaths from accidents.

This is because, seatbelts, unlike airbags, are not autonomous in car safety. Airbags deploy on their own during an accident and are not under the control of the driver and passengers. Seatbelts, on the other hand, work only when they are put on. In a way, their functioning is not involuntary. You can have the best seatbelts in the market but they are useless unless put on. Say what you want, but the harsh truth in India is that seatbelts are viewed the same way as helmets (or even masks in the COVID-19 Pandemic). The "chalta hai" attitude of many Indian drivers and passengers does not go well with this potential mandate. If the mandate becomes a reality, it will be viewed in the same way as the other seatbelts (i.e, Why should I wear them? Who cares?!).

What I think would be a better move is to make the seatbelt warnings mandatory in all future vehicles, for all passengers. This is because I have personally seen passengers forcing themselves to wear seatbelts just to rid themselves of the "annoyance" caused by the seatbelt warning sound. Therefore, the "chalta hai" mindset would be replaced by "no annoyance" mindset.

[Bhargav7]

Originally Posted by karthi.stark

What I think would be a better move is to make the seatbelt warnings mandatory in all future vehicles, for all passengers. This is because I have personally seen passengers forcing themselves to wear seatbelts just to rid themselves of the "annoyance" caused by the seatbelt warning sound. Therefore, the "chalta hai" mindset would be replaced by "no annoyance" mindset.

Wouldn't that require multiple sensors to identify occupied seats? I guess that tech wouldn't come cheap. Further, people who are not really serious about safety would leave all the seat belts buckled without wearing them to bypass the warning chime.

Originally Posted by karthi.stark

Seatbelts, on the other hand, work only when they are put on. In a way, their functioning is not involuntary. You can have the best seatbelts in the market but they are useless unless put on.

That is true. Probably not many people would still put them on. The Government and the manufacturers can only do so much. Beyond a point, it is the car users who need to be sensible, both in terms of defensive driving and seat belt / car seat usage etc.

[BoneCollector]

This is a very welcome move by the government. All occupants in my car are always belted in whatever seat they are. But I've never liked the lap belt. I even searched ways to fix a 3 point seatbelt in my Brezza but there were no leads. I just hope that with this regulation, the government also mandates an adjustable head restraint for the middle rear seat. Absence of it will mean whiplash injury to the passenger in case of rear ending.

[itwasntme]

Agree. No seatbelt = car doesn't move. I ensure every passenger is belted up even in city traffic. No exceptions. At least in BLR, every front passenger wears a seatbelt, and most cabbies insist on it. God knows how many lives this has already saved!

This is a welcome move and gradually moving to compulsory wearing of seatbelts for all passengers.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by Bhargav7

Indian Government is contemplating making the three-point seat belt mandatory for all passengers. A very welcome move. Hope it gets implemented soon!

Originally Posted by Piyush_DT

This decision if implemented will be significant. Crowding at second row will be stopped. Also, child seat should be made compulsory as well.

Govt makes three-point seat belts mandatory for all front-facing passengers in car

Source: Indian Express

The norm will also be applicable for 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,” the road transport and highways minister said.

He did not mention about the date from which the new requirement will come into force.

Mods : The title of the thread may also be changed accordingly.

[Goandiaries]

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

Govt makes three-point seat belts mandatory for all front-facing passengers in car

That's great! They've made a quick action here. Next is to educate the road users to use all those seat belts. Even today, there are people who clips the seat belts in place and sit on it and drive - not just taxis, but personal high end car users! Best is to implement dash cams, use all appropriate footage from the innumerable accidents that occur throughout the country to educate the road users.

[Turbohead]

Sincerely hope someone advises MORTH to also make head rests mandatory for the rear middle seat passengers along with the 3 point seat belt. Implementing safety norms partially don't help either - whiplash injuries can be lethal.

[antz.bin]

I hope the govt calculates the seating capacity of a car in the RC = the number of seats with *both* 3 point seat belts AND adjustable head restraints.

I guess many econo-hatchbacks will be reduced to 0 seaters using this formula. Fortunately, all 3 cars in my family will just get downgraded to 4 seaters.

[deetee]

What about front facing passengers in bus or commercial transport? Shouldn't we care about lives in buses and other commercial transport like trucks. I wonder why no one is talking about safety in a bus that does 90-100 kph day in and day out. I strongly believe safety should be mandated across all road worthy vehicles, only then it can be widely accepted and practiced without fail.