Travelling without seatbelt: Offenders to be issued challan from Nov 11 in Mumbai

Passengers with the rear seat belts. Pic/Ashish Raje

Mumbaikars will not face challan for next ten days starting November 1 as the city traffic cops have decided to first create awareness among motorists and passengers.

Clear instructions have been given to traffic cops regarding the action for not wearing seat belt. Citizens who are travelling in taxis or cabs which has seatbelt but not wearing it, will also face challan. Challans will be issued on violators from November 11 onwards.

Mumbai Traffic Police on October 14 announced that anyone driving a vehicle without seat belts or carrying passengers not strapped in can be fined.

There was huge confusion over the action from traffic cops whether old cars, passenger taxis will face action too as many of them do not have company fitted seat belts. Citizens were also demanding to act only on highways.

Also read: Mumbai: 15 days not enough to install seat belts, say vehicle users

According to Central Motor Vehicle Act 125 (1), vehicles having front facing passenger capacity of 8, should wear seat belts while travelling. Also, according to Motor Vehicle Act (Amended) 2019, drivers or co-passengers who don't wear seat belt should be penalised under Section 194(B)(1) through E-challan.

Amid confusions, the Joint Commissioner of Traffic Rajvardhan issued official orders, giving clear instructions about action on passengers not wearing seatbelts.

The order read, from November 1 to 10, traffic cops will create awareness among the co-passengers not wearing seat belt, telling them to comply with rules. The motorists or passengers of taxis who are not wearing belts should be given stern warning of action after 10 days. E-challans will be issued from November 11. Also, the vehicles which doesn't have company fitted seat belts, the owners will be asked to get them in next 30 days and no e-challan should be issued to such drivers and co-passengers, this includes passenger taxis.

If passengers using taxi which has seat belts but they aren't wearing, the passengers should be penalised for the same not the drivers. Also, the amount of e-challan should be recovered then and there and all the details of such passengers should be noted down by traffic cops, as per the instructions by the Joint commissioner.

DCP (Central) Raj Tilak Roushan told, "We will start issuing e-challans, but we will initially focus on spreading awareness and benefits of wearing seat belts among motorists and give warning to passengers who don't wear it deliberately. If passengers were seen violating the rule deliberately, they will face e-challan" he said.