Why you should wear a seatbelt, even if you're sitting in the car's backseat

On Sunday, Cyrus Mistry - former Tata Sons chairman - was killed in a horrific car crash. New reports suggest that the 54-year-old was not wearing a seat belt.

According to officials, the Mercedes SUV in which Mistry was travelling was speeding when the driver - Anahita Pandole - lost control of the vehicle and ended up crashing in to the divider, killing Mistry and Jahangir Pandole who were both seated in the back.

The incident has brought into sharp focus the importance of wearing a seatbelt in automobiles. Here's why you should:

• Using seat belts in the rear seats can prevent a fatality by 25%, according to the World Health Organisation.
• An untethered passenger in the back seat is likely to collide with the seat ahead, destabilising the people in the front, even if they are wearing their seat belts.
• To encourage seat belt usage, India's motor vehicle rules mandate passengers to wear a seat belt, with non-compliance fined at Rs 1,000

According to Road Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, there are plans to make a three-point seatbelt mandatory for all seats of a car, including middle seats - which only have a two-point seatbelt currently.