The Mumbai Police on Friday said that wearing seat belts will be compulsory for all car passengers from November 1.

According to the National Criminal Records Bureau data, around 1.5 lakh people die every year on India’s roads. Rear seat passengers seldom wear a seat belt and enforcement is also lax.

In a statement, the traffic wing of the Mumbai Police on Friday instructed all vehicle owners to install seat belt facility in four-wheelers before November 1.

The police warned that strict action will be taken against defaulters under section 194 (B) (1) of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019.

As per the provision of the Act, whoever drives a motor vehicle without wearing a safety belt or carries passengers not wearing seat belts shall be punished or fined. The Act also states that it is compulsory to secure a child, less than the age of 14, with a safety belt.

The move came a month after former Tata Sons chairperson Cyrus Mistry and his co-passenger Jehangir Pandole died in an accident as their car rammed into a road divider in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. A police investigation showed that Mistry and Pandole, who were in the back seat of a Mercedes, were not wearing seat belts.

Soon after the crash, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari had said that fines will be levied for not wearing seat belts in the back of a car.

Last month, the Delhi Traffic Police had also made seat belts compulsory for all passengers of a vehicle, failing which they will be fined Rs 1,000.