Seat belts

Contents
1. Seat belt rules 1.1. Exceptions 1.2. Minibuses and coaches 1.3. Sentence

Since seat belts can save lives, it is sensible to wear then when travelling on the road. The wearing of seat belts has been a legal requirement for most road users since 1983.

The Road traffic Act 1988 or the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 makes it an offence to:

• drive a motor vehicle; or
• ride in the front or rear seat of a motor vehicle;

without wearing an adult seat belt.

Drivers and adult front seat passengers in cars must wear a seat belt, unless they have a medical exemption certificate. Adults travelling in the rear of a car must also use seat belts, if they are fitted. It is the responsibility of the adult passenger (not the driver) to ensure that they are using the seat belt.

This rule does not apply to the following:

• Motorcars registered before 1 January 1965
• People who are exempt from the seatbelt requirement

The following table is a summary of the rules that apply to the wearing of seat belts.

All children under the age of 12 will have to use some form of child car seat, unless they are taller than 135cm (4ft 5in).

Person	Front seat	Rear seat	Who is responsible
Driver	Belt must be worn if fitted		Driver
Adult passenger (over 14 years)	Belt must be worn if fitted	Belt must be worn if fitted	Passenger
Child (under 3 years)	Child restraint must be worn	Child restraint must be worn	Driver
Child (3 – 11 yrs) unless over under 135cm (4ft 5in) tall,	Child restraint must be worn	Child restraint must be worn	Driver
Child (12 or 13 yrs)or over 135cm (4ft 5in) tall)	Seat belt must be worn if fitted	Seat belt must be worn if fitted	Driver

Exceptions to these rules are:

• Short and occasional journeys made for reasons of ‘unexpected necessity’ (so not on regular school runs, but you don't need to worry if you are picking up a friend's child because he or she has been unexpectedly detained at work)
• Where two other children are already using restraints in the back seat, leaving no room for a third. (However, it would often be safer for the child to travel, in the front of the car, using the appropriate seat or cushion.)
• In a licensed taxi or licensed private hire vehicle
• In older vehicles with no rear seat belts though the Department for Transport points out that this is ’not safe’
• Emergency vehicles, including ambulances and police cars, are exempt

A child restraint is a baby carrier, child seat, harness or booster seat appropriate to the child’s weight. There are four groups of restraints designed for children of different weights. These are:

Group 0 and Group 0+. These are baby seats - rear-facing and for children up to 10kg and up to 13kg respectively and aged approximately from birth to 9-12 months.

Group I. Forward or rearward facing child seats for children weighing 9kg to 18kg and aged approximately 9 months to 4 years.

Group II. Booster (seats) designed for children from 15kg to 25kg and up to 36kg and aged approximately 4 to 6 and over. These may or may not have backs.

Group III. Booster (cushions) for children from 22kg and up to 36kg, and aged from approximately 6. These generally do not have backs. Sometimes they start at 15kg.

In addition:

• It is illegal to use a rear-facing baby seat in a front seat protected by an airbag
• Children under 12 and less than 135cm tall may not travel in the front of a car without an appropriate seat or cushion, under any circumstances
• Children under three may not travel without an appropriate seat, whether they are in the front or the back, except in the rear of a taxi

As a matter of common sense, traffic regulations allow that the following persons need not wear seat belts:

• Drivers of delivery vans while undertaking deliveries or collections if the vehicle travels less than 50 metres between stops
• Drivers of taxis and private hire vehicles while undertaking deliveries or collections if the vehicle travels less than 50 metres between stops
• Drivers of prisoner escorts and fire engines
• Qualified driver supervising a learner who is reversing
• Drivers making a reversing manoeuvre
• Drivers who cannot wear seat belt for medical reasons (a medical certificate will be needed)
• Passengers of middle seats where there is no seat belt (a 2 point lap-belt is not a seat belt)

All minibuses regardless of age must have forward facing seats for each child (up to 15 years) carried on an organized trip fitted with lap seat belts.

When travelling by coach all passengers over the age of 14 MUST wear seat belts if these are fitted. All National Express coaches have seat belts fitted.

These offences do not result in endorsements or disqualifications. If the matter does go before the magistrates, they can impose a fine of up to £1000. However, it is usually dealt with by the fixed penalty system by a fine of £30.