SeatBelt laws (1 Viewer)

[lou020]

The new rules are still as clear as mud, still does not say you can't travel in unbelted side facing seats. It says designated travel seats must have belts. side facing cannot be designated travel seats (unless your a bus & they ignore all the rules of the road anyway). suppose it depends on the copper who stops you & if he THINKS your carrying passengers unsafely.

 

[tonka]

You should also check your V5. Item S1 in section 4 shows the number of travelling seats you have.

You cannot, ever, for any reason, whether you have seat belts or not, carry more people than this including the driver.

This only relates to newer vehicles. Unsure when it was implimented but vans like the OP's of 2004 wont have that listed.

 

[Minxy]

Aren't we all missing the point here? It is NOT safe to travel in any seats without seatbelts, and I believe there are strict rules on how children can be carried regardless! Public vehicles (buses etc) have different rules and are much more substantially built than a coachbuilt motorhome.

IMV no-one (ie a professional) will retro-fit rear seatbelts into an older U-shaped lounge MH as there is no structural integrity to the seat bases and the chassis is unlikely to be sufficient for the belts to be securely attached and that's just for 2 point belts, for 3 point belts you'd have to also be able to mount the upper part too. In addition, the rear seats of the U-shaped lounge would have NO protection whatsoever in the event of a rear end shunt!

The motorhome in question is NOT safe for anyone except the 2 people in the cab to travel in. As for where this leave the OP ... I don't know! It will depend on if they can prove that they asked the question in order to get them to take the MH back - most insurance policies have a 'legal protection' part to it so it might be worth ringing and speaking to them - they will also be able to confirm what they deemed to be covered for insurance purposes too - probably just the 2 front occupants.

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[TheBig1]

its nearly all been said already other than the insurance issue. many if not most policies insist that all occupants wear a seatbelt in an officially authorised travel seat. plus passengers under 14 years old or 1.2metres tall need to be in a suitable child seat

 

[TheBig1]

oops, forgot to mention that virtually all coachbuilt motorhomes are built with floors and walls of thin ply bonded to urethane foam and 1mm of aluminium. the last 2 or 3 ft of the van often doesnt even have the protection of a real chassis. anything crashing into the back of the van will cause anyone in the back to be seriously injured or killed. the rear lounge of a motorhome is not in any way safe to transport passengers, especially children

 

[Boringfrog]

The new rules are still as clear as mud, still does not say you can't travel in unbelted side facing seats. It says designated travel seats must have belts. side facing cannot be designated travel seats (unless your a bus & they ignore all the rules of the road anyway). suppose it depends on the copper who stops you & if he THINKS your carrying passengers unsafely.

Seems clear to me:
"Whilst with ‘older motorhomes’ the legislation did not specifically require passengers to be restrained by appropriate approved devices, legislation still existed within the Construction and Use Regulations – Reg 100 1986 that could be used to support a prosecution where the carriage of passengers was deemed unsafe."

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[gus-lopez]

The dealer has lied to you.

Nobody can travel in side facing seats.

They can travel in anything before 2007.
It is only after that date that it gets a bit grey.

There does not seem to be any anchor points. I was told that it was safe for my kids to sit in the rear with no belts so this is untrue it was from a dealership so where does this leave me now as obviously the MH is no good for my family.

Children have to use available seats fitted with belts . I.e. if you only have 2 belted seats inc. driver then one child has to use the passenger one. all others + adults are stuck with whats left.

 

[Just smiffy]

I've said it before and I'll say it again......

It's not a pretty sight watching your loved ones flying past you through the windscreen at 30-50mph......

 

[Old Soldier]

I've said it before and I'll say it again......

It's not a pretty sight watching your loved ones flying past you through the windscreen at 30-50mph......

You are absolutely right, it can't be a pretty site and the use of seatbelts has reduced the chance of that happening tremendously in the vehicles they are fitted to. However, some of us do have older vans and for us we can only belt the front passengers. We are legally allowed to carry unbelted passengers and in my view provided we drive carefully and try to avoid the other idiots on the road we should be allowed to do so. I have been driving for nearly 50 years and I'm happy to say I have not had an accident. That's not only because I have been lucky but mainly because I have been careful, observant and concentrate when driving. I also travel on trains and buses as well as in a few old vintage cars, none of which have seatbelts. Interestingly enough I also ride push bikes and occasionally go at a fair old lick, should these be banned because the rider, passenger ( tandum) can't be restrained and are of course in much more danger on our busy roads than vehicle passengers. I believe we should be allowed to make a balanced decision based on actual risk and ability provided we stay within the law. My opinion of course, not to be confused with anyone else's.

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[Deleted member 29692]

We are legally allowed to carry unbelted passengers

It's not quite as straightforward as that.

Your passengers all have to be carried safely.

If you are stopped and the policeman decides that you are carrying them in an unsafe manner then you will be in trouble. Forget trying to argue about the age of your van and seatbelts not being required if that happens. Sideways facing seats for example will always be considered unsafe.

You should also probably seek advice from your insurance company before carry unbelted passengers.

 

[Spidey]

I have been involved in a head on collision. A car came around a blind corner on the wrong side of the road! No chance of reacting and it didn't matter how careful I was driving. It happens, it's just not safe to have unbelted passengers. Unfortunately you can't be sure what's around the corner.