Amazon Delists Seatbelt Alarm Blockers As Govt Pushes For Road Safety

Amazon India has reportedly removed the products that disable car seatbelt alarms shortly after India’s transport minister Nitin Gadkari made an appeal to the ecommerce giant.

According to a Reuters report, Amazon has stated it takes strict action against sellers who sell any product in violation of Indian laws and that includes listing unsafe products such as the seatbelt alarm blockers.

Recently, following the unfortunate death of Tata’s Cyrus Mistry in a car accident, conversations about road safety and the usage of seat belts have gained prominence. According to media reports, Mistry wasn’t wearing a seat belt (in the rear seat) which caused him his life. 

The incident shed light on a car’s safety features. Especially since front seats have airbags and make it mandatory to wear seat belts, passengers in the rear seat have no such protection.

Following that, the transport ministry has been quick to talk about the country’s road safety policies and is looking to make the rules even more stringent. One of them is the usage of seatbelt alarm blockers, a metal clip, which is inserted in the lock system, disabling the alarm.

Further, the ministry also plans to make it mandatory for all four (front and rear) passengers to wear seatbelts. Not only that, but seatbelt alarms may also be made mandatory for rear seaters.

Over the past few years, ecommerce platforms have gained prominence over the traditional means of shopping and it is easier to find anything (read: absolutely anything) on marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart. Thus, from time to time, the government fires up a conversation with these platforms, asking them to take down certain non-compliant products.

Only a few months ago, the centre asked ecommerce players Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm Mall and others, to delist sub-standard, non-ISI marked or fake ISI-marked products such as cookers and helmets from the respective marketplaces.