MOTOR VEHICLES (WEARING OF SEAT BELTS) REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 65.12

MOTOR VEHICLES (WEARING OF SEAT BELTS)

REGULATIONS

27th July, 2007

LEGAL NOTICE 200 of 2007, as amended by Legal Notices 408 of 2007,

259 of 2011 and 392 of 2014.

Part I

PRELIMINARY

The title of these regulations is the Motor Vehicles

(Wearing of Seat Belts) Regulations.

(Regulations 6, 7 and 8)

CLASSIFICATION OF CHILD RESTRAINTS

Group 0

for children of a mass of less than 10 kg

Group O+

for children of a mass of less than 13 kg

Group I

for children of a mass between 9 kg and 18 kg

Group II

for children of a mass between 15 kg and 25 kg

Group III

for children of a mass between 22kg and 36 kg

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

''adult'' means a person who is twelve years of age or over;

''car for hire'' means a motor vehicle which is constructed to have

a seating capacity of not more than five passengers, excluding the

driver, and which is licensed to be hired from a public service

garage to be driven by the owner of such garage or by such other

person as is authorised by him;

''certificate of medical exemption'' means a certificate drawn up

in terms of the Second Schedule and issued by a competent medical

authority, certifying that it is inadvisable on medical grounds for a

person to wear a seat belt;

''child'' means a person who is three years of age or over but who

is under the age of twelve years;

''child restraint system" means a device combining a seat, fixed

to the structure of the vehicle by appropriate means which, until the

9th May, 2008, has at least one anchorage point located on the seat

structure carrying the United Nations ‘E’ mark or BS ‘kitemark’,

and which, after the 9th May, 2008 conforms with UN-ECE

Regulation 44/03 or Directive 77/541/EEC or UNECE Regulation

129 or any other subsequent adaptation thereto and which shall be

installed in accordance with fitting information (such as those

found in the instruction manual, leaflet or electronic publication)

provided by the manufacturer of the chi ld restrain t system

declaring in what manner and in which vehicle types the system

may be safely used.

Child-restraint systems are subdivided into two classes -

(a) an integral class comprising a combination of straps or

flexible components with a securing buckle, adjusting

device, attachments and, in some cases, a

supplementary chair and/or impact shield, capable of

being anchored by means of its own integral strap or

straps; and

(b) a non-integral class that may comprise a partial

restraint which, when used in conjunction with an

adult belt which passes around the body of the child or

restrains the device in which the child is placed, forms

a complete child-restraint system;

''competent medical authority'' means a medical practitioner or

group of medical practitioners;

''driver'' means the person who drives a motor vehicle on the

public highway;

''front seat'' in relation to a vehicle means a seat which is wholly

or partially in the front of the vehicle alongside the driver’s seat;

''motor vehicle'' means, for the purpose of these regulations, any

mechanically self-propelled vehicle intended for use on the public

highway, having at least four wheels and a maximum designed

speed exceeding 25 kilometres per hour;

''M1, M2 and M3 motor vehicles'' have the same meaning

assigned to them by the Motor Vehicles (Weights, Dimensions and

Equipment) Regulations;

Provided that for the purpose of these regulations M2 and M3

vehicles do not include route buses;

''N1, N2 and N3 motor vehicles'' have the same meaning assigned

t o t h e m b y t h e M o t o r Ve h i c l e s ( We i g h t s , D i m e n s i o n s a n d

Equipment) Regulations;

''public highway'' means national arterial, distributor, acess and

local access roads;

''rear seat'', in relation to a vehicle, means any seat which is not a

front seat, or a driver’s seat or a seat alongside the driver’s seat;

''rearward-facing'' means facing in the direction opposite to the

normal direction of travel of the vehicle;

''route bus'' means a vehicle designed to carry also standing

passengers, and which is normally used to provide a scheduled

service;

"safety system" means any seat belt or child-restraint system

which is designed to diminish the risk of injury to its wearer, in the

event of collision or of abrupt vehicle deceleration, by limiting the

mobility of the wearer’s body;

''seat'' means a structure which may or may not be integral with

the vehicle structure complete with trim, intended to seat one adult

person. The term covers both an individual seat and part of a bench

intended to seat one person;

''seat belt'' means an assembly of straps with a securing buckle,

adjusting devices and attachments capable of being anchored inside

a power-driven vehicle and designed to diminish the risk of injury

to the person wearing it. It may include a lap belt, a diagonal belt, a

three-point belt or a harness belt;

''taxi'' means a motor vehicle fitted with a taxim eter and

registered and licensed to ply for hire as a taxi;

''young child'' means a person who is under the age of three

years.

Part II

WEARING OF SEAT BELTS BY ADULTS

(Regulation 10(d))

MODEL MEDICAL CERTIFICATE

MOTOR VEHICLES (WEARING OF SEAT BELTS)

Every driver of any motor vehicle which is not a route bus

shall wear a seat belt while driving the vehicle on the public

highway

Provided that this shall be the case insofar as the driver seat

is fitted with a seat belt.

(Regulation 11)

SIGN WHICH MAY BE DISPLAYED AT EVERY SEATING POSITION FITTED

WITH A SAFETY BELT IN M2 AND M3 VEHICLES

(Colours: a white figure on a blue background)

Every adult, travelling in the front seat or in a rear seat of a

motor vehicle, which is not a route bus, shall wear a seat belt while

the vehicle is being used on the public highway

Provided that this shall be the case insofar as the said front

or rear seat, as the case may be, is fitted with a seat belt.

Every adult, travelling as a rear seat passenger, shall first

occupy the rear seat equipped with a seat belt and then occupy the

other seats.

Part III

WEARING OF SEAT BELTS AND USE OF RESTRAINT

SYSTEMS BY CHILDREN

(1) A young child shall not travel in any M1, N1, N2 or N3

motor vehicle that is not fitted with a safety system.

(2) A young child travelling in any M1, N1, N2 or N3 motor

vehicle that is fitted with a safety system shall always be carried in

a child restraint system that is suitable to the child’s weight as set

out in the First Schedule.

(3) A young child shall not be transported in a rearward-facing

child restraint system fitted to a front seat protected by an airbag

unless such airbag is deactivated.

(4)

No adult seat belt shall be applied to a young child.

(1) A child travelling either as a front seat passenger or a

rear seat passenger in an M1, N1, N2 or N3 motor vehicle shall be

restrained using a child restraint system for the child’s weight as

provided for in the First Schedule.

(2) A child travelling in an M2 or M3 motor vehicle, which is

not a route bus, shall use the safety systems provided.

(3) A child who is less than 150 cm in height but not less than

135 cm in height travelling in a motor vehicle may be restrained by

a safety belt for adults if a child restraint is not available.

(4) A child who is less than 150cm in height travelling in any

M1, N1, N2 or N3 motor vehicle that is fitted with a safety system

shall be restrained by an integral or non-integral child restraint

system for the child’s weight as provided for in the First Schedule.

(5) Where no safety systems are fitted in M1, N1, N2 and N3

vehicles, a child who is less than 150 cm in height shall occupy a

seat other than a front seat.

(6) Children referred to in subregulations (2) and (3) may not

be restrained by a child restraint system while travelling in a taxi.

A child shall first occupy a seat equipped with a child

restraint system that is suitable for the child’s weight as set out in

the First Schedule and only after that occupy other seats not

equipped with such restraint systems.

No person shall have a seat belt removed from a motor

vehicle that has been manufactured with such a device fitted as a

standard feature.

Part IV

GENERAL

The provisions of these regulations shall not apply to any

person who is -

(a) the driver of or a passenger in a motor vehicle

constructed or adapted for the delivery or collection of

goods or mail when carrying out local rounds of

deliveries or collections; or

(b) reversing or manoeuvring the motor vehicle for a short

distance in a limited space; or

(c) a qualified driver and supervising the holder of a

provisional learning licence when the holder is

performing any manoeuvre mentioned in paragraph

(b); or

(d) in possession of a certificate of medical exemption as

provided in the Second Schedule; or

(e) a member of the Police Force or of the Prison Service

while protecting or escorting persons; or

(f)

in the service of a fire brigade and is wearing

operational clothing or equipment; or

(g) a medical officer or an attendant whilst attending to

patients travelling in any ambulance; or

(h) conducting a driving competence test; or

(i)

a disabled person who is wearing a disabled person’s

belt or a disabled person who is unable to use a

standard belt; or

(j)

the driver of a licensed taxi or car for hire while

carrying a passenger or passengers for hire.

Passengers in M2 and M3 motor vehicles fitted with safety

systems shall be informed of the requirement to wear safety belts

whenever they are seated and the vehicle is in motion either by the

driver of the vehicle or by means of signs as provided for in the

Third Schedule, prominently displayed at every seating position, or

by the courier or official designated as group leader.

Whenever an offence against the provisions of these

regulations has been committed, criminal liability shall lie as

follows

(a) in respect of regulations 3, 6, 7 and 8 criminal liability

shall vest in the driver of the vehicle

Provided that such vehicle is not an M3 motor vehicle;

(b) in respect of regulations 4 and 5, criminal liability

shall vest in the passenger of the vehicle who is not

wearing a fitted seat belt at the time of the commission

of the offence if such passenger is aged sixteen years

and over;

(c) in respect of regulations 4 and 5, where no passenger

as defined in paragraph (b) is present in the vehicle,

criminal liability shall vest in the driver;

(d) in respect of regulation 9, criminal liability shall vest

with the person who instructed the removal of the seat

belt.

(1) Any driver found guilty of committing an offence in

breach of regulations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7(1) and 8 shall, on conviction, be

liable to a fine (ammenda) not exceeding forty-six euros and fifty-

nine cents (46.59).

(2) Any passenger aged sixteen years or over who is found

guilty of committing an offence in breach of regulations 4 and 5

shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine (ammenda) not exceeding

forty-six euros and fifty-nine cents (46.59) if that person had not

been wearing a seatbelt while travelling as front seat passenger, and

to a fine (ammenda) not exceeding twenty-three euros and twenty-

nine cents (23.29) if that person had not been wearing a seatbelt

while travelling as a rear seat passenger.

(3) Any person found guilty of committing any offence in

breach of regulation 9 shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine

(ammenda) not exceeding fifty-eight euros and twenty-three cents

(58.23).

MOTOR VEHICLES (WEARING OF SEAT BELTS)