Rear seat belts as important as those in the front

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Actor Sonu Sood has used his celebrity status to push for various causes outside films. He is known for his charitable deeds, from running an eponymous charity club that helps the underprivileged sponsor kidney transplant surgeries for the needy, a report in our movies section stated.

Now, the actor has taken up another cause. Sood, whose wife Sonali Sood met with an accident last month, wants to use his star power to advocate road safety, especially the use of seat belts.

On March 24, while travelling on the Nagpur highway, Sonali, her sister and her nephew met with an accident. While Sonali and her nephew sustained injuries, Sood said all the passengers were saved because they were wearing seat belts. With this incident serving as a trigger, the actor wanted to highlight the importance of wearing seat belts, even those seated in the rear.

He said that wearing rear seat belts should become a habit. Most times, we do see people shunning the rear belt. That mindset needs to change. We also welcome the famous using their ‘brand' name to espouse worthy causes.

People are hugely influenced by these celebrities, and that is why we have them roped in to give messages. Youngsters especially ‘mimic' their actions, listen to them as that is thought ‘cooler' than listening to families, try to dress like them, work out like them... that is why celebrities have a public responsibility to use their fame in the right way. Sood said he planned to increase awareness through videos, campaigns and social media posts.

We have seen some awareness about front seats and seat belts. We need to have the same when it comes to rear seat belts, too. More traction for this, with a celebrity driving (pun intended) the change.