Motor Car (Seat Belts) Regulations 2003
MOTOR CAR (SEAT BELTS) REGULATIONS 2003
1
BR 57/ 2003
MOTOR CAR ACT 1951
1951 : 89
MOTOR CAR (SEAT BELTS) REGULATIONS 2003
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
1 Citation
2 Interpretation
3 Seat belts
4 Exemption from seat belt
requirements
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;
"child safety seat" means a seat or other device from the
manufacturer of the motor car or the manufacturer of the
MOTOR CAR (SEAT BELTS) REGULATIONS 2003
2
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.
Seat belts
3 (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
3
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.
Exemption from seat belt requirements
4 (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
