Seatbelt laws for 30year old ARVs (1 Viewer)

Bigrog98

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Oct 24, 2007
15
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Midlands
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706
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American RV
Exp
7yrs
I have been told by my MOT testing station that the law has now changed and my 30 year old Allegro now needs a lap & diagonal seat belt for the front passengers one of which is a two seater buddy bench.

As there is only a lap belt fitted at the time of manufacture, does this mean that the vehicle has to be modified to take the diagonal belt and who will be responsible should it fail in an accident?http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/images/smilies/surprised.gif

BIGrog98
 

Snowbird

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Apr 24, 2009
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Dont know about any changes,my old Tiffin is due for MOT next month and that only has lapbelts fitted to both front seats.
The thing I realy find funey is the lapbelts fitted to the tub chairs which are free standing and swivel...god knows what would happen if anyone was sitting in one of them with a lapbelt on,in the case of an accident.:Eeek::Eeek::Eeek:
 

scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
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My Georgieboy only had lap belts up front ... no problem with MOTs.

if there is a new law, as far as I am aware, it cannot be applied retrospectively to older vehicles..

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pappajohn

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as far as i'm aware seatbelt laws cannot be retro applied.

if it had no belts fitted prior to 1983 then it doesnt require them now.
after '83 it would have them as standard.

your RV wouldnt be required to have ANY belt by law due to its age.



i would suggest asking the tester where he got this legislation and can he quote it.

i'm sure Geo can verify.

seatbelt law.

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Bigrog98

Bigrog98

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Oct 24, 2007
15
0
Midlands
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706
MH
American RV
Exp
7yrs
Seatbelt laws

Hi all
Thanks for that, this is the first time this has happened in seven years to this vehicle which usually passes first time. I was told that the new direction was brought in in Sept last year, I will ask to see the paperwork concerning this new law. I have also sent an email 3 times now to the relevant government dept for clarification, no reply as yet.:RollEyes:

BIGrog98
 

American Dream

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Aug 20, 2007
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Hi all
Thanks for that, this is the first time this has happened in seven years to this vehicle which usually passes first time. I was told that the new direction was brought in in Sept last year, I will ask to see the paperwork concerning this new law. I have also sent an email 3 times now to the relevant government dept for clarification, no reply as yet.:RollEyes:

BIGrog98

If you have any luck clarifying this...Please post on forum/PM me?

Thanks.
 

kkclassic

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Oct 31, 2008
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1
Hi

This has been discussed on our sister forum RVOC here Link Removed.

Lets hope you can get an answer from the relevant department and post it here for us and on the RVOC as this is a real problem with expensive implications.

Kevin and Tricia

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Bigrog98

Bigrog98

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Oct 24, 2007
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706
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American RV
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7yrs
Those Seatbelts again

Hi American Dream, Finally got some sense out of the man, when I looked at his paperwork it was applicable to all vehicles 1988 onward.

It does not apply to vehicles before that date, so anyone with a real oldie can breathe again!
Thanks to all you Funsters for replying.http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/images/smilies/bigGrin.gif

BIGrog98
 

pappajohn

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Aug 26, 2007
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this was 'borrowed' from another motorhome website.....

Seatbelts and the law
(last updated April 2009)
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.
The information below relates to the fitting of seatbelts and the wearing of seatbelts by adults. There is specific legislation, introduced in 2006, concerning the carrying of children in vehicles. Rather than trying to present all the somewhat complicated regulations here, please see: Link Removed
For vehicles built up to Oxtober 2007 there was 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 did not preclude manufacturers fitting seat belts to forward facing or rearward facing seats within the accommodation area if they wished to do so.
Where seat belts are fitted they must be worn.
Seats in the rear of a campervan/motorhome did not, prior to October 2007, 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 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.
An EU Directive (2005/40/EC) on the installation of seat belts required that from 20 October 2007 new vehicles have to have seat belts fitted on all seats except those seats intended solely for use when the vehicle is stationary.
The original advice given to us by the DfT was that, where seat belts are fitted, from May 2009, the seat belt wearing Directive would prevent more passengers being carried than there are seat belts in the rear of vehicles. This would have meant 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.
They now tell us:
"There will be no change in the regulations in May - our lawyers tell us that is not necessary because the existing regulations already adequately deal with the requirements of the seat belt wearing Directive. Our earlier view that we would need to change the regulations was mistaken."
"Seat belt wearing regulations cannot apply in seats where seat belts are not fitted. Therefore there can be no specific prohibition on using such seats even if other seats in the rear of the vehicle have seat belts fitted. Specifically, the regulations exempt passengers from using a seat belt if a seat belt is not "available". If all the seats with belts are already occupied, then seat belts are clearly not "available" and the remaining passengers can use the seats without belts."
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 ...'.
In addition to considering the legal and safety issues involved, owners who intend to carry passengers in unbelted seats must check with their insurers to confirm that this is acceptable to them.
Our advice is that, regardless of the letter of the law, all passengers should wear seat belts.
We are indebted to Rohan Pohl and Tim Norman from the Department for Transport for their time and patience in answering all our questions on this subject.
 

WinnietheBrave

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Jun 28, 2010
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This is an interesting thread, I have to say I must have broken the rules. My RV is a 5 birth, yet I only have belts for 4 people, most inconvenient.

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Rainbowchaser

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Feb 27, 2010
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Hmnn...Quite a long time really...
Wow!
Allegro eh?
Another British success story.
::bigsmile:
I'm more interested in the fact that you are still running an All-aggro, as we used to call them in the trade !
Many moons ago, I used to retrofit seat belts pre-legislation to many BL cars. Britax used to supply a kit with all the bits. I recall having to drill the pillars etc .....Happy days.

Wivvysdad has a better memory than I. He used to book them in for repairs when he didn't have his nose in Hot Rod Magazine!
:thumb:

I've just remembered why I quit the motor trade....:winky:







 

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