Seat Belts in PSV's
Introduction
Due to the numbers of children carried in PSV's, these pages are devoted to the legal requirements for children and the wearing of seatbelts
and specifically to the regulations that affect seat belt fitment, seating and the carraige of children regardless of the mode of passenger
transport.
There is further information pertaining to seat belts and seat belt anchorage points which is available within the Road Legal (Construction
& Use) section of the Transports Friend website which can be accessed via the link below.
Regulations
For information relating to the law and the legal requirements on Seatbelts and seatbelt Anchorage points, the following regulations should
be consulted:
- Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971;
- Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984;
- Transport Act 1985;
- Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986;
- Road Traffic Act 1988;
- Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) Regulations 1993 (02/02/1993);
- The Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2001
- The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (18/09/2006);
Definitions relating to Seat Belts
Child
- a person under the age of 14 years
- large child means a child who is not a small child
- small child means a child who is aged under 12 years and under 135 centimetres (4'5") in height
Appropriate Seat Belt
- for a small child is a child restraint suitable for his height and weight and marked as such,
- for a large child - is a child restraint suitable for his height and weight as above or an adult seat belt
- for a person aged 14 years or more - is an adult belt.
Child restraints, which include baby seats, child seats, booster seats and booster cushions, should bear markings showing the recommended weight of the child, and may show the height. From May 2008 all such restraints should bear UN ECE 44.03 approval markings.
Seat belt - a belt intended to be worn by a person in a vehicle and designed to prevent or lessen injury to its wearer in the event of an accident to the vehicle and includes, in the case restraint, any special chair to which the belt is attached.
Specified passenger's seat
- in the case of a vehicle which has one forward facing front seat alongside the drivers seat, that seat, or
- in the case of a vehicle which has more than one such seat, the one furthest from the drivers seat; or
- if the vehicle normally has no seat alongside the driver, the forward facing front passenger seat which is foremost in the vehicle and furthest from the drivers seat, unless there is a fixed partition separating that seat from the space in front of it alongside the drivers seat.
Non-protected seat - a seat which is not a front seat and the screen zones within the protected area have a combined surface of less than 800 cm2 - see EC Directive 81/575
Sideways facing seats - there are no specific legal requirements for sideways facing seats.
Bus - a motor vehicle which;
- has at least four wheels;
- is constructed or adapted for the carriage of passengers;
- has more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat, and;
- has a maximum design speed exceeding 25 kilometres per hour.
A large bus is a bus which exceeds 3.5 tonnes maximum laden weight.
A small bus is a bus which does not exceed 3.5 tonnes maximum laden weight.
Urban bus - a bus designed for urban use with standing passengers (EC Directive 97/27/EC).
Minibus - a motor vehicle which is constructed or adapted to carry more than 8 but not more than 16 seated passengers in addition to the driver.
Coach - a large bus with a maximum gross weight of more than 7.5 tonnes and with a maximum speed exceeding 60 m.p.h.
Motor car - a mechanically propelled vehicle, not being a motor tractor, a motor cycle or an invalid carriage, which is constructed itself to carry a load of passengers and the weight of which unladen:-
- if it is constructed solely for the carriage of passengers and their effects and is adapted to carry not more than seven passengers exclusive of the driver, does not exceed 3050 kg;
- if it is constructed for use for the conveyance of goods or burden of any description, does not exceed 3050 kg;
- does not exceed 2540 kg in a case falling within neither of the points (above).
Passenger car - a motor vehicle which:-
- is constructed or adapted for use for the carriage of passengers and is not a goods vehicle,
- has no more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat,
- has four or more wheels,
- has a maximum design speed exceeding 25 kilometres per hour, and
- has a maximum laden weight not exceeding 3.5 tonnes.
