Not wearing seat belt claimed 16,397 lives in road accidents in 2021, says Ministry data

New Delhi: A total of 16,397 persons were killed in road accidents in 2021 due to not wearing a seatbelt, of which 8,438 were drivers and the remaining 7,959 were passengers, according to a report by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

The report titled ‘Road accidents in India — 2021’, further said during 2021, a total of 46,593 persons were killed in road accidents due to not wearing helmet, of which 32,877 were drivers and 13,716 were passengers.

A total of 4,12,432 road accidents occurred in 2021 which claimed 1,53,972 lives while 3,84,448 people were injured.

According to the report, not wearing helmet caused injuries to 93,763 persons and not wearing 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 are critical for averting fatal and grievous injuries in the event of road accidents.

Helmet is mandatory for all motorists on two-wheelers, barring 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.

It appears that Mistry, who along with 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.