The tragic news of the death of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and a co-passenger in a car accident on September 4 has led to everyone asking if their lives could have been saved if they had worn seat belts.
Cyrus Mistry and Jehangir Pandole were sitting in the back seats when the car hit the road divider at the Charoti area of Palghar, 135 km from Mumbai. They were travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai.
They were not wearing their seat belts like most of us who don’t if we are riding in the rear seat.
The accident took place at around 2.30 pm on September 4 when their Mercedes was on the bridge on the Surya river.
An error of judgement by the driver is believed to be the cause of the accident, apart from overspeeding.
Anahita Pandole, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist, was driving the car. She hit a road divider on the bridge on the Surya river.
An eye-witness has said the car was trying to overtake another vehicle from the left side but lost control.
Fortunately, she and her co-passenger and husband, Darius, were wearing seat belts as they were sitting in the front seats. Their lives were saved though they received serious injuries and are under treatment.
But Cyrus Mistry and Jahangir Pandole were not wearing seat belts. Hence they had severe head injuries, according to police.
Generally, car passengers in rear seats, across India, generally do not wear seat belts– though they are aware that the rules are clear: all persons must wear seat belts.
Yet, since the rule is not enforced by the police, many do not bother to wear them. Only the driver and the co-passenger on the front seat are fined by police in many cities if they are not wearing seat belts.
Mistry’s death has highlighted why the existing rules (that stipulate one must wear seat belts whether one seat in the front seat or the rear seat of a car) must be strictly enforced.
Seat belts can prevent death and reduce serious injuries to passengers in the rear seat of a car by 25%, says a World Health Organisation released in June this year. “Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of death among drivers and front seat occupants by 45% – 50%, and the risk of death and serious injuries among rear seat occupants by 25%,” the report stated.
There is a lot of concern in the government after Mistry’s death. The Centre is mulling issuing fresh orders to enforce wearing seat belts even if one is travelling in the back seat of a car. After the news of Mistry’s death, the International Road Federation (IRF) noted that Mistry and Jahangir Pandole were killed despite travelling in an ‘expensive’ SUV car that is supposed to rate high in passenger safety.
Experts say wearing seat belts can save a person even when the vehicle is at a speed of 110 kmph. The airbags did open in the case of Mistry and Jahangir Pandole. But they did not save them as they were not wearing seat belts. Their heads crashed against the front seats.
Mistry’s death has resulted in social media being flooded with messages regarding the importance of seat belts.
Sample this from someone who claims to have worked with Tata Motors has this to say: I have been working in Tata Motors for the last 16 years handling Vehicle Crash Safety and now handling airbags, seat belts and steering wheels. I have witnessed many crash tests, designed and evaluated structures whether it meets the safety requirements, currently designing airbags, seat belts and steering wheel to make occupants safer.”
Listing some fundamentals for wearing a seat belt, he says a seat belt is primary protection and an airbag is a secondary protection. This means that an airbag alone will not protect if one is not wearing a seat belt.
He also says, except for hands holding the steering, one’s body should be a minimum of 300 mm away from the steering wheel. If the distance gets closer than 300 mm, the driver will not be protected even if she wears the seat belt. He cautions against fixing crash bars or the sidebars in cars on your own. These may protect the vehicle but will kill the passengers inside due to improper impact load transfer and also altering the crumbling zone.
Airbags are designed to respond in 35 milliseconds in the event of a crash. Airbags, seat belts and steering wheel must be replaced once it gets used. This must be done at the authorised dealer end only.
Headrest for driver and co-passenger is also very crucial in terms of their safety. If the headrest is not in the right place, it can hurt the neck after an impact.
The Centre is keen that all car manufacturers provide seat belts for all passengers. “A single airbag costs only Rs 800. At present, two airbags in cars are mandatory in cars. People sitting in the back have no airbags for them. The government has decided to make it mandatory to provide a minimum of six airbags in motor vehicles. We want to save the lives of the people. Around 1.5 lakh people are killed in 5 lakh accidents across the country,” Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari told Parliament recently.
(The author is a senior journalist and a well-known political commentator)