Minibus and seatbelt laws regarding a MOT

[fatjapp]

I have a '89 minibus, originally fitted with 15 seats but now only 9 seats fitted. Its only used for personal use, not commercial.

Does any body know the law regarding the figment of seatbelts ? I currently only have belts fitted for the front 3 seats, do I need seat belts for the rear seats as well ? I assume that it passed last years MOT without the belts fitted. Has anyone got any ideas ? Thanks Michael

The only information I could find was :

1. Vehicles first used between 1 January 1965 and 30 September 1988 not exceeding 2450kg unladen weight must have seat belts fitted to the driver's seat (a) and the specified front passenger seat (b) (two seat belts in total)

2. Vehicles first used after 30 September1988 not exceeding 3500kg design gross weight must have seat belts fitted to the driver's seat (a), the specified front passenger seat (b), and if fitted the centre front seat (c) (three belts in total)

[MrMPuk]

As it has been a minibus since new and was never fitted with seat belts then it doesn't need them.

[fatjapp]

Fantastic ( unless your sitting in the back during an accident )

Cheers for the fast reply.

[FredTransit]

In 1997 a rule was brought in requiring anything over 7 seats including the driver to have seat belts fitted, this was the only rule I know of that's applied to all vehicles, instead of having a cut off date/age. But if you take out another seat (at least for the test ) the minibus is taken down to the regulations for cars of the same age, and you don't need rear seat belts. We have a 1986 minibus which was not built with seat belts either, and currently only have the triple fitted, so that doesn't need rear seat belts, and that's how it's tested.

[motorwise]

seat belt MOT test regs here:-

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_510.htm