Traffic Seatbelt Rule - just or unjust?

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I have been thinking about the recent circular by Bengaluru Traffic Police on fining people who are not wearing seatbelt. Here is my understanding of the revised rule on wearing the seatbelt.

All occupants of the car are expected to wear seatbelt, not just the driver. If any occupant is not wearing the seatbelt, each of them will be fined ₹1,000/-.

Indeed, wearing a seatbelt is for your own safety, however, by not wearing the seatbelt are you causing any inconvenience or danger to other vehicles? I am at a loss to understand this.

Traffic Police's first aim should be to ensure that vehicles follow traffic discipline. What are the various acts that can cause danger to other people on the road? Here are some of them :

  • Jumping traffic signal
  • Jumping lanes
  • Ignoring One Way/No Entry
  • Overspeeding
  • Honking
  • Rash Driving
  • Drunk Driving
  • Driving without valid licence
  • Parking in No Parking zones / Pavements
These traffic indiscipline can lead to serious accidents and inconvenience to other users, hence fine for breaking these rules are justified and are must.

However, endangering your own safety by not wearing seatbelt does not endanger any other road users. Hence, in my opinion, rules and fines for such "ignorance of personal safety" is absolutely out of place.

Traffic police and other agencies who manage the roads need to concentrate on road safety - such as ensuring unobstructed roads (roads free from potholes and other obstacles for smooth and free movement of vehicles), speedy movement of traffic with less and less wait time etc.

Unfortunately, Traffic Police and other agencies are ignoring many of their duties to provide smooth and obstacle free roads and are overly busy in framing rules and collecting fines which have nothing to do with road safety. 

While wearing seatbelt is for your own good, traffic agencies are not justified in collecting fines for not wearing seatbelt. 

Your thoughts?

Comments

Sadat said…
Absolutely right. Instead of punishing the citizens, government should focus on eradicating corruption in the roads maintenance wing of the BBMP. Potholes and non-existent roads are major cause of accidents and deaths. And definitely not people without seat belts.
24/10/22 5:12 PM
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