Do I need to fit some if taking passengers for a ride?
And, if I do get pulled over because my mate is sitting in the back, what do you reckon the police's stance would be?
Cheers - Russ
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Seatbelt law
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Seatbelt law
by welshrussell » Sun Dec 17, 2006 6:57 pm
What's the situation with seat belts in the back of my 1976 MK1 campervan?
Do I need to fit some if taking passengers for a ride?
And, if I do get pulled over because my mate is sitting in the back, what do you reckon the police's stance would be?
Cheers - Russ
Do I need to fit some if taking passengers for a ride?
And, if I do get pulled over because my mate is sitting in the back, what do you reckon the police's stance would be?
Cheers - Russ
Do good things - and good things will happen to you!
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by rover » Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:16 pm
If the seats are forward facing you need to have at least lap-belts, but if the are side facing you dont need any belts at all....YET! With the poxy government you never know what is around the corner 
Rover.
Rover.
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by welshrussell » Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:31 pm
Superb All my seats are side facing - enough for 4 people.
At least I can drive round now without fear of getting pulled over
All my seats are side facing - enough for 4 people.
At least I can drive round now without fear of getting pulled over
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by welshrussell » Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:45 pm
Cheers Rover - I'll bear that in mind
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by XLB » Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:42 pm
rover wrote:If the seats are forward facing you need to have at least lap-belts, but if the are side facing you dont need any belts at all....YET! With the poxy government you never know what is around the corner :(
Rover.
You don't by law, need seat belts in the rear of a motorcaravan :lol: No matter which way the seats face. Just ask your MOT man :lol: Strange but true :lol:
XLB
Sorry but I posted this twice :oops:
Last edited by XLB on Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by XLB » Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:43 pm
rover wrote:If the seats are forward facing you need to have at least lap-belts, but if the are side facing you dont need any belts at all....YET! With the poxy government you never know what is around the corner :(
Rover.
You don't by law, need seat belts in the rear of a motorcaravan :lol: No matter which way the seats face. Just ask your MOT man :lol: Strange but true :lol:
XLB
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by MrMPuk » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:32 am
Taken from http://www.ukmotorhomes.net
Update 1/9/06
The information below relates to the fitting of seatbelts and the wearing of seatbelts by adults. There is specific new (18/9/06) legislation concerning the carrying of children in vehicles. Rather than trying to present all the somewhat complicated regulations here, please see: http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campa ... rseats.htm
15/1/06
We asked the Department for Transport for their interpretation on the law as it applies to seatbelts fitted in motorhomes, this article gives the essence of the information that they gave us:
There is currently no legal requirement to have seat belts fitted to side-facing seats or seats that make up the accommodation area in motor caravans.
Regulation 46 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986: as amended states motor caravans first used on or after 1st April 1982 but before 1 October 1988 shall be equipped with anchorage points for the driver's seat and specified passenger seat (if any); and for motor caravans first used on or after 1st October 1988 shall be equipped with anchorage points for the driver's seat and any forward-facing front seat.
You can download a copy of the SI at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2001/20011043.htm.
However, this does not preclude manufacturers fitting seat belts to forward facing or rearward facing seats within the accommodation area if they wish to do so.
Where seat belts are fitted they must be worn.
Following our request for clarification on the carrying of passengers in unbelted seats, we received this further reply:
... seats in the rear of a campervan/motorhome do not, at present, require seatbelts (whether forward, rearward or sideways facing) and it is not illegal to carry unrestrained passengers in them while travelling, providing the vehicle is not overloaded. It is not something we would recommend, however.
Although current seat belt wearing regulations do not currently prohibit carrying more passengers in vehicles than there are seat belts available, the police may prosecute drivers for carrying passengers in a manner that may injure someone.
We would advise that no-one should be carried in any unbelted seat in the rear of a motorhome.
A recent Directive (2005/40/EC) on the installation of seat belts requires that from 20 October 2007 new vehicles will have to have seat belts fitted on all seats except those seats intended solely for use when the vehicle is stationary.
Where seat belts are fitted, from May 2009, the seat belt wearing Directive will prevent more passengers being carried than there are seat belts in the rear of vehicles.
The new requirements will mean that from May 2009, in any vehicle of whatever age, where seat belts are fitted in the rear, more passengers may not be carried in the rear than there are seat belts available.
The critical points are that for owners of older motorhomes, it will not become illegal to carry passengers in the rear, provided that no seatbelts are fitted to any seats behind the driver and front passenger seats. Owners of any motorhome that has belts fitted to any seat in the rear will need to be aware that, from May 2009, it will be illegal to carry passengers in any unbelted seats.
The advisability of carrying unrestrained passengers is another matter, to quote the DfT spokesman:
'... the police can already act where people in the rear of any vehicle are considered to be carried in a dangerous manner because they are unrestrained. [Owners] should beware of unbelted passengers. In a crash, they can injure others in the vehicle ...'.
Update 1/9/06
The information below relates to the fitting of seatbelts and the wearing of seatbelts by adults. There is specific new (18/9/06) legislation concerning the carrying of children in vehicles. Rather than trying to present all the somewhat complicated regulations here, please see: http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campa ... rseats.htm
15/1/06
We asked the Department for Transport for their interpretation on the law as it applies to seatbelts fitted in motorhomes, this article gives the essence of the information that they gave us:
There is currently no legal requirement to have seat belts fitted to side-facing seats or seats that make up the accommodation area in motor caravans.
Regulation 46 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986: as amended states motor caravans first used on or after 1st April 1982 but before 1 October 1988 shall be equipped with anchorage points for the driver's seat and specified passenger seat (if any); and for motor caravans first used on or after 1st October 1988 shall be equipped with anchorage points for the driver's seat and any forward-facing front seat.
You can download a copy of the SI at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2001/20011043.htm.
However, this does not preclude manufacturers fitting seat belts to forward facing or rearward facing seats within the accommodation area if they wish to do so.
Where seat belts are fitted they must be worn.
Following our request for clarification on the carrying of passengers in unbelted seats, we received this further reply:
... seats in the rear of a campervan/motorhome do not, at present, require seatbelts (whether forward, rearward or sideways facing) and it is not illegal to carry unrestrained passengers in them while travelling, providing the vehicle is not overloaded. It is not something we would recommend, however.
Although current seat belt wearing regulations do not currently prohibit carrying more passengers in vehicles than there are seat belts available, the police may prosecute drivers for carrying passengers in a manner that may injure someone.
We would advise that no-one should be carried in any unbelted seat in the rear of a motorhome.
A recent Directive (2005/40/EC) on the installation of seat belts requires that from 20 October 2007 new vehicles will have to have seat belts fitted on all seats except those seats intended solely for use when the vehicle is stationary.
Where seat belts are fitted, from May 2009, the seat belt wearing Directive will prevent more passengers being carried than there are seat belts in the rear of vehicles.
The new requirements will mean that from May 2009, in any vehicle of whatever age, where seat belts are fitted in the rear, more passengers may not be carried in the rear than there are seat belts available.
The critical points are that for owners of older motorhomes, it will not become illegal to carry passengers in the rear, provided that no seatbelts are fitted to any seats behind the driver and front passenger seats. Owners of any motorhome that has belts fitted to any seat in the rear will need to be aware that, from May 2009, it will be illegal to carry passengers in any unbelted seats.
The advisability of carrying unrestrained passengers is another matter, to quote the DfT spokesman:
'... the police can already act where people in the rear of any vehicle are considered to be carried in a dangerous manner because they are unrestrained. [Owners] should beware of unbelted passengers. In a crash, they can injure others in the vehicle ...'.
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by motorwise » Mon Dec 18, 2006 2:24 am
good post - cleared that right up
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by motorwise » Mon Dec 18, 2006 9:48 pm
MrMPuk wrote:I found one very similar about the MOT which is where I got the info in the first place but couldn't be bothered to post it.
oh go on - you know you want to
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Passengers in the back of a normal van?
by pyromancer » Fri Dec 22, 2006 8:07 pm
On a related note, what (if anything) is the law on carrying passengers in the back of a normal van with no rear seats?
Years back (1992) I once asked a policeman at an RTA I'd witnessed if it was OK, as some mates and I were planning to hire a van to go to the Monsters Of Rock at Donnington, and he said that was fine, after all it's what the police themselves do (or at least did back then) when they pick people up for drunk and disorderly! But I'm guessing things may have changed since - so is it still legal to have 4 or 5 mates sitting on the floor in the back while travelling?
And yes, the van we hired for the trip was a Transit. Almost brand new, white, very clean, but there was an odd "singing" sound from the rear axle on the way back up the M74 at times - never did find out what it was.
(sorry if this has already been asked, but I tried a few searches and didn't find anything except camper-related threads).
Years back (1992) I once asked a policeman at an RTA I'd witnessed if it was OK, as some mates and I were planning to hire a van to go to the Monsters Of Rock at Donnington, and he said that was fine, after all it's what the police themselves do (or at least did back then) when they pick people up for drunk and disorderly! But I'm guessing things may have changed since - so is it still legal to have 4 or 5 mates sitting on the floor in the back while travelling?
And yes, the van we hired for the trip was a Transit. Almost brand new, white, very clean, but there was an odd "singing" sound from the rear axle on the way back up the M74 at times - never did find out what it was.
(sorry if this has already been asked, but I tried a few searches and didn't find anything except camper-related threads).
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