MOTOR CAR (SEAT BELTS) REGULATIONS 2003

BR 57/ 2003

1951 : 89

MOTOR CAR (SEAT BELTS) REGULATIONS 2003

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

1 Citation 4 Exemption from seat belt

2 Interpretation requirements

3 Seat belts 5 Commencement

The Minister of Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 102A of the Motor Car Act 1951, makes the following Regulations:—

Citation

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Car (Seat Belts) Regulations 2003.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations — "Act" means the Motor Car Act 1951; "adult belt" means a seat belt fitted in a motor car and comprised of a restraint system of a type marked or labelled by the manufacturer of the motor car or the person who fitted the seat belts in the motor car as suitable for use by persons who are aged 14 years or more; "child" means a person under the age of 14 years;

MOTOR CAR (SEAT BELTS) REGULATIONS 2003

"child safety seat" means a seat or other device from the manufacturer of the motor car or the manufacturer of the child safety seat or such other device, marked or labelled as suitable for a child and which is designed for the purpose of securing a child and which either —

(a) can be fitted directly to a suitable anchorage on the seat of a motor car; or

(b) can be used in conjunction with an adult belt and held in place by the restraining action of that belt; "front seat" means —

(a) in the case of a motor car with a forward-facing passenger seat alongside the driver's seat, that seat and where there is more than one such seat, the one furthest from the driver's seat as well;

(b) in the case of a motor car with no forward-facing passenger seat alongside the driver's seat, the forward- facing passenger seat which is foremost in the motor car and furthest from the driver's seat, unless there is a fixed partition separating that seat from the space in front of it alongside the driver's seat; "motor car" does not include motor cycles; "rear seat" in relation to a motor car means a seat other than the driver's seat or a front seat; "restraint system" means a system combining a seat fixed to the structure of the motor car in question and a seat belt for which at least one anchorage point is located on the seat structure.

3. Seat belts

(1) For the purposes of section 20A of the Act, the description of seat belt to be worn by an adult riding in the front seat of a motor car is an adult belt.

(2) For the purposes of section 20B of the Act, the description of seat belt to be worn by a child who is riding in a motor car ⎯

(a) if the child is an infant is a rear-facing child safety seat; or

(b) if the child is a small child ⎯

(i) is a forward-facing child safety seat; or

(ii) is a booster seat used in conjunction with an adult belt, if the child is more than forty pounds

MOTOR CAR (SEAT BELTS) REGULATIONS 2003

in weight, but less than eighty pounds in weight; and

(c) if the child is a large child, is an adult belt.

(3) In this regulation⎯ "infant" means a child who is under the age of one year and under twenty pounds in weight ; "small child" means a child who weighs from twenty pounds to eighty pounds; "large child" means a child whose weight is above eighty pounds.

4. Exemption from seat belt requirements

(1) Section 20A(1) of the Act shall not apply to an adult who is riding in the front seat of a motor car if he holds a medical certificate.

(2) Section 20B(1) of the Act shall not apply to a child who is riding in a motor car if ⎯

(a) the child holds a medical certificate;

(b) the motor car is a public service vehicle; or

(c) the motor car is a community service vehicle.

(3) In this regulation ⎯ "medical certificate" in relation to a person driving or riding in a motor car means a valid certificate which is signed by a registered medical practitioner and states that it is inadvisable on medical grounds for the person to wear a seat belt.

Commencement

5 These Regulations shall come into force on the 1st day of January 2004.

Made this 18th day of December, 2003

Minister of Transport