On or around Sun, 6 Aug 2006 00:47:43 +0100, "Greg"
<
[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>"Andy.Smalley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> > The MOT test is just an MOT test, it's not a definitive statement that
>> > your car is ready and legal to drive on the road. You can for example
>> > have seats in the back that don't have seatbelts
>>
>> and it will fail if first used after 31st March 1987
>
>Not necessarily, I had a 1991 camper with side facing rear seats that I
>added with no belts, this was never even questioned in 8 MOTs.
you might have got into trouble for using them on the road though.
There are 2 bits of legislation - the MOT and C&U, and although to an extent
they overlap, they cover different areas. Then there are new bits about
retrofitment of seta belts to buses and so forth, and a 12-seater 110 is
classed as a minibus in terms of the number of passenger seats, and also in
terms of the driving licence - new class B licences issued after 1/1/97
don't have "D1 - category restriction 1" which is passenger vehicles
designed or adapted to carry more than 8 and not more then 16 passengers,
the category restriction is "not for hire or reward". Therefore if you have
a 12 (or 10) seater and leave the seats in it in theory you're not allowed
to drive it.
'ere y'go, some legislation, from C&U 1986 as amended. (below)
aha.
more stuff comes to light. I've just found the Motor Vehicles (Wearing of
Seatbelts) Regulations 1993, and having just updated the thing, it has
amendments contained in [SI 2006 No. 1892 - The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of
Seat Belts) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 - 18/09/2006] which come into
force on 18/9/06. I'll try to distil it, but note that this is NOT the
whole thing and you may well be tripped up by it if you take it as gospel;
if anyone wants the whole thing I'd like to say that for average eejits I
heartily recommend
http://www.hughesguides.com for a nifty guide to
legislation. 's not all that expensive to get, enormously cheaper than
actually acquiring the whole of C&U, for example.
OK... seatbelt use:
Basically, the seat belt thing is divided up into adults, large children and
small children, as follows:
Child: under 14 years of age
Large Child: not a small child
Small Child: under 12 years of age and under 150cm tall - that's changing to
135cm on 18/9/06 though.
the salient bit about children is in this para:
-------
(8) For the purposes of these Regulations, a seat belt is appropriate :-
(a) in relation to a child aged under 3 years, if it is of a
description prescribed for a child of his height and weight by regulation 8;
(b) in relation to a child aged 3 years or more, if it is a child
restraint of a description prescribed for a child of his height and weight
by regulation 8 or is an adult belt; or
(c) in relation to a person aged 14 years or more, if it is an adult
belt.
-------
and that is due to be replaced by the following:
-------
[(8) For the purposes of these Regulations, a seat belt is appropriate :-
(a) in relation to a small child, if it is a child restraint of a
description prescribed for a child of his height and weight by regulation 8;
(b) in relation to a large child, if it is a child restraint of a
description prescribed for a child of his height and weight by regulation 8
or an adult belt; or
(c) in relation to a person aged 14 years or more, if it is an adult
belt.]
-------
the above refers to Regulation 8... here it is.
Regulation 8: [the bits enclosed in // are due to be deleted on 18/9/06]
-------
8. Description of seat belts to be worn by children
(1) For a child of any particular height and weight travelling in a
particular vehicle, the description of seat belt prescribed for the purposes
of section 15(3) of the Act to be worn by him is :-
(a) if he is a small child //and the vehicle is a relevant vehicle//,
a child restraint of a description specified in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of
paragraph (2);
//(b) if he is a small child and the vehicle is not a relevant vehicle,
a child restraint of a description specified in sub-paragraph (a) of
paragraph (2);//
(c) if he is a large child, a child restraint of a description
specified in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2) or an adult belt.
[SI 2006 No. 1892 - The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) (Amendment)
Regulations 2006 - 18/09/2006]
(2) The descriptions of seat belt referred to in paragraph (1) are :-
(a) a child restraint with the marking required under regulation 47(7)
of the Construction and Use Regulations if the marking indicates that it is
suitable for his weight and either indicates that it is suitable for his
height or contains no indication as respects height;
(b) a child restraint which would meet the requirements of the law of
another member State corresponding to these Regulations were it to be worn
by that child when travelling in that vehicle in that State.
-------
There are exemptions in Regulation 10; section 15(3) I think refers to
RTA1986 as amended and is the bit about it being an offence to carry a child
in a vehicle without suitable restraint. The most obvious ones are here -
this is the new legislation as from 18/9/06 but the old one allows more
leeway, if anything.
-------
[(1) The prohibitions in section 15(3) and (3A) of the Act do not apply in
relation to :-
(a) a child for whom there is a medical certificate;
(b) a small child aged under 3 years who is riding in a licensed taxi
or licensed hire car, if no appropriate seat belt is available for him in
the front or rear of the vehicle;
(c) a small child aged 3 years or more who is riding in a licensed
taxi, a licensed hire car or a small bus and wearing an adult belt if an
appropriate seat belt is not available for him in the front or rear of the
vehicle;
(d) a small child aged 3 years or more who is wearing an adult belt
and riding in a passenger car or light goods vehicle where the use of child
restraints by the child occupants of two seats in the rear of the vehicle
prevents the use of an appropriate seat belt for that child and no
appropriate seat belt is available for him in the front of the vehicle;
(e) a small child who is riding in a vehicle being used for the
purposes of the police, security or emergency services to enable the proper
performance of their duty;
(f) a small child aged 3 years or more who is wearing an adult belt
and who, because of an unexpected necessity, is travelling a short distance
in a passenger car or light goods vehicle in which no appropriate seat belt
is available for him; or
(g) a disabled child who is wearing a disabled person's belt or whose
disability makes it impracticable to wear a seat belt where a disabled
person's belt is unavailable to him.]
-------
This is from the explanatory notes:
The main changes made by these Regulations and The Road Traffic Act 1988
(Amendment) Regulations 1992 as regards children are as follows.
(a) The previous Regulations applied only to motor cars as defined in
the Road Traffic Act 1988. These Regulations extend to all passenger cars as
well as motor cars.
(b) Previously it was lawful to drive a vehicle with an unrestrained
child in the rear if no suitable restraint was available in the rear even if
one was available in the front. This will generally cease to be lawful in
the case of a small child in a passenger car where an un-occupied seat in
the front is provided with a suitable restraint.
(c) A small child will generally have to wear a suitable child
restraint if one is available. If no such restraint is available, a small
child aged over 3 years must generally wear an adult belt if one is
available.
(d) An adult belt is now treated as suitable for a child aged 3 years
or over even if no booster cushion is used. Previously there was provision
for a child aged 1, 2 or 3 years in the rear to use an adult belt in
conjunction with a booster cushion. There is no equivalent provision in
these Regulations. Accordingly, a child aged under 3 years will not be
required to wear an available adult belt even if a booster cushion is also
available.
And finally, C&U regulation 48A which governs children on organised trips.
------------
48A. Minibuses and coaches to be fitted with additional seat belts when used
in certain circumstances
(1) No person shall use or cause or permit to be used on a road a coach or
minibus wholly or mainly for the purpose of carrying a group of 3 or more
children in the following circumstances unless the appropriate number of
forward-facing passenger seats fitted to the vehicle meet the requirements
of this regulation.
(2) The circumstances are that :-
(a) the group of children are on an organised trip; and
(b) the journey is being made for the purposes of the trip.
(3) In paragraph (1), the reference to the appropriate number is a reference
to the number of children being carried in the vehicle (excluding disabled
children in wheelchairs).
(3A) For the purposes of this regulation a rearward-facing seat shall be
treated as a forward-facing seat which meets the requirements of this
regulation if the coach or minibus concerned was first used on or after 1st
October 2001, and the rearward-facing seat complies with the requirements of
regulations 46 and 47.
(4) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2)(a), a group of
children shall, for the purposes of this regulation, be regarded as being on
an organised trip if they are being carried to or from their school or from
one part of their school premises to another.
(5) Without prejudice to the meaning of paragraph (2)(b), paragraph (1)
shall not apply to a vehicle if it is being used in the provision of a bus
service of a description specified in paragraph 2 of the Schedule to the
Fuel Duty Grant (Eligible Bus Services) Regulations 1985 or if it is
otherwise being used wholly or mainly for the purpose of providing a
transport service for the general public.
(6) For a forward-facing passenger seat to meet the requirements of this
regulation a seat belt must be provided for it, and :-
(a) if paragraph (3) of regulation 47 does not (in whole or part)
apply to the seat belt and the seat belt was first fitted to the vehicle
after 10th February 1997, the seat belt must comply with that paragraph to
the extent (if any) that it would have to so comply were :-
(i) that regulation to apply to all motor vehicles, and
(ii) there substituted for the words âprovidedâ to âor (e)â, in that
paragraph, the words âprovided for any person in a vehicle to which this
regulation appliesâ;
(b) if paragraph (5) of regulation 47 does not apply to the seat belt
and the seat belt is a seat belt for an adult (not being a disabled personâs
belt) that was first fitted to the vehicle after 10th February 1997, the
seat belt must comply with the requirements specified in paragraph (7)
below;
(c) if paragraph (5) of regulation 47 does not apply to the seat belt
and the seat belt is a child restraint that was first fitted to the vehicle
after 10th February 1997, the seat belt must be properly secured to
anchorages provided for it;
(d) if paragraph (5) of regulation 47 does not apply to the seat belt
and the seat belt is a disabled personâs belt that was first fitted to the
vehicle after 10th February 1997, the seat belt must be properly secured to
the vehicle or to the seat;
(e) if regulation 47 does not apply to the vehicle and the seat belt
was first fitted to the vehicle after 10th February 1997, the seat belt must
comply with paragraph (7) of that regulation to the extent (if any) that it
would have to so comply were that regulation to apply to all motor vehicles;
and if regulation 48 does not apply to the seat belt and the seat belt was
first fitted to the vehicle after 10th February 1997, the requirements of
paragraph (4) of that regulation must be met in relation to the anchorages,
fastenings, adjusting device and retracting mechanism (if any) of the seat
belt to the extent (if any) that those requirements would have to be met
were that paragraph to apply to all anchorages, fastenings, adjusting
devices and retracting mechanisms of seat belts fitted to motor vehicles,
and paragraph (2) of regulation 48 shall apply for the purposes of
subparagraph (1) above as it applies for the purposes of that regulation.
(7) The requirements referred to in paragraph (6)(b) are that the seat belt
must be properly secured to the anchorage points provided for it and, in a
case where any of those anchorage points is first fitted to the vehicle
after 10th February 1997 the anchorage points to which it is secured must
comply :-
(a) if the vehicle is a coach, with the requirements specified in
regulation 46(4)(b) or (4A)(b)(ii); or
(b) in any other case, with the requirements specified in regulation
46(4)(b).
(8) Until 10th February 1998, this regulation shall not apply to a coach
first used before 1st October 1988.
(9) In this regulation :-
âschoolâ has the meaning given by section 14(5) of the Further and
Higher Education Act 1992;
âforward-facing passenger seatâ means a forward-facing seat which is
not the driverâs seat; and
âchild restraintâ, âdisabled personâs beltâ, âforward-facing seatâ,
âseatâ, and âseat beltâ have the meanings given in regulation 47.
(10) For the purpose of this regulation, a child is a person who is aged 3
years or more but is under the age of 16 years.
--
Austin Shackles.
www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
Too Busy: Your mind is like a motorway. Sometimes it can be jammed by
too much traffic. Avoid the jams by never using your mind on a
Bank Holiday weekend.
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.
