Rear seat belt alarm mandatory in cars from April 1, 2025: NHAI issues notification

Soon, an alarm will sound in the car if the passenger in the back seat is not wearing a belt. Because, it has been made mandatory to install a 'rear seat belt alarm' in all cars sold in the country from April 1, 2025. For this, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (NHAI) issued a draft notification to auto-maker companies on March 15.

A seat belt alarm is a must feature. This safety feature alerts the passenger sitting in the car with a beeping sound to wear the seat belt and this sound does not stop until the passenger wears the seat belt.

According to a government official, the notification is only for rear seat belt alarms, apart from this no other new provision has been made.

Currently, in-built seat belt reminder is mandatory for driver and front seat passenger. Rear seat passengers not wearing seat belts are fined ₹1,000 under Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), but most people are either unaware of it, or ignore it. Even traffic policemen rarely levy fines on pillion passengers for not wearing seat belts.

Earlier, the ministry had issued a draft notification to make three safety features mandatory in cars after the death of former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry in a road accident. It was proposed to provide company fitted seat belt, seat belt alarm and 6 airbags in the car. However, the proposal of 6 airbags did not materialize and eventually the entire notification was scrapped.