S.I. No. 367/2011 - Road Traffic (Restraint Systems in Organised Transport of Children) Regulations 2011.

1. These requirements apply to every restraint system or safety belt and the anchorages, webbing, straps, fastenings, adjusting device, retracting mechanism (if any), child restraint (if any), and disabled persons belt (if any) as required to be fitted in a vehicle under these Regulations.

2. For the purposes of this Schedule, the anchorages and anchorage points of a restraint system or safety belt shall, in the case of a seat which incorporates integral safety belt anchorages, include the system by which the seat assembly itself is secured to the vehicle structure.

3. The anchorage points provided for safety belts shall be employed only as anchorages for the safety belts for which they are intended to be employed or capable of being employed.

4. The anchorage points provided for wheelchairs shall be employed only as anchorages for the wheelchairs for which they are intended to be employed or capable of being employed.

5. The anchorage points provided for a disabled person’s belt shall be employed only as anchorages for the belt for which they are intended to be employed or capable of being employed.

6. Subject to paragraph 7—

(

a

) all load-bearing members of the vehicle structure or paneling within 30 cm of each anchorage point shall be maintained in a sound condition and free from serious corrosion, distortion or fracture;

(

b

) the adjusting device and (if fitted) the retracting mechanism of a restraint system or safety belt shall be so maintained that a belt may be readily adjusted to the body of the wearer, either automatically or manually, according to the design of the device and (if fitted) the retracting mechanism;

(

c

) the anchorages, fastenings and adjusting device of a restraint system or safety belt shall be maintained free from any obvious defect which would be likely to affect adversely its performance in restraining the body of the wearer in the event of an accident involving the vehicle;

(

d

) the buckle or other fastening of a restraint system or safety belt shall–

(i) be so maintained that the belt can be readily fastened or unfastened;

(ii) be kept free from any temporary or permanent obstruction; and

(iii) except in the case of a disabled persons safety belt, be readily accessible to a person sitting in the seat for which the safety belt is provided;

(

e

) the webbing or other material which forms the restraint system shall be maintained free from cuts or other visible faults (as, for example, extensive fraying) which would be likely to affect adversely the performance of the belt when under stress;

(

f

) the ends of every safety belt, other than a disabled persons safety belt, shall be securely fastened to the anchorage points provided for them; and

(

g

) the ends of every disabled persons safety belt shall, when the safety belt is being employed for the purpose for which it was designed and constructed, be securely fastened either to some part of the structure of the vehicle or to the seat which is being occupied by the person wearing the belt so that the body of the person wearing the belt would be restrained in the event of an accident to the vehicle.

7. No requirement specified in paragraph 6 applies if the vehicle is being used–

(

a

) on a journey after the start of which the requirement ceased to be complied with; or

(

b

) after the requirement ceased to be complied with and steps have been taken for such compliance to be restored with all reasonable expedition.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

11 July 2011.

Leo Varadkar

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations make restraint systems of an acceptable standard mandatory for all passenger accommodated in a category M2 and M3 vehicle which is involved in the organised transport of children. These Regulations also require the restraint systems of a category M2 and M3 vehicle involved in the organised transport of children to be maintained in a fit for purpose state.

These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Restraint Systems in Organised Transport of Children) Regulations 2011.

1 OJ No. L. 24, 30.1.76, p. 6.

2 OJ No. L. 209, 29.7.81, p. 30.

3 OJ No. L. 139, 19.5.82, p. 9.

4 OJ No. L. 341, 6.12.90, p. 14.

5 OJ No. L. 187, 26.7.96, p. 95.

6 OJ No. L. 255, 30.9.05, p. 149.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

15

th July

, 2011.

I, LEO VARAKAR, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 11

of the

Road Traffic Act 1961

(No. 24 of 1961) (as adapted by the Transport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011 (

S.I. No. 141 of 2011

), hereby make the following regulations