S.I. No. 359/1991 - Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations, 1991.

S.I. No. 359 of 1991.

ROAD TRAFFIC (CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPMENT AND USE OF VEHICLES) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 3) REGULATIONS, 1991.

The Minister for the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 and 11 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (No. 24 of 1961) hereby makes the following Regulations:—

PART I General

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations, 1991.

(2) The Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 to 1991 and these Regulations shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 to 1991.

2. In these Regulations—

"appropriate child restraint" means an approved child restraint which is appropriate to the user by virtue of the weight range indicated on the child restraint;

"belt anchorages" means the parts of the vehicle structure or seat structure, or any other part of the vehicle to which the safety belt assemblies are to be secured;

"child restraint" means a device designed for use by a child of not more than 36 kilograms in weight and which is fitted directly to suitable belt anchorages or is held in place by the restraining action of a safety belt and which is either equipped with an assembly of straps and a securing buckle or uses the straps and buckle assembly of the safety belt so as to have the effect of diminishing the risk of injury to its wearer in the event of a collision or of abrupt vehicle deceleration;

"disabled person's belt" means a safety belt which has been specially designed or adapted for use by a person with a physical handicap or disability and which is intended for use solely by such a person;

"design gross vehicle weight" of a vehicle means the gross weight of the vehicle laden with the heaviest load which it can reasonably carry having regard to the engine capacity, brakes, tyres and general construction of the vehicle and shall, until the contrary is shown, be taken to be the design gross weight of the vehicle specified by the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle, or where the design gross weight of the vehicle as specified by the manufacturer or distributor is not ascertainable, the design gross weight of the vehicle as specified by an automotive engineer;

"restraint system" means a system combining a seat, fixed to the structure of the vehicle by appropriate means, and a safety belt for which at least one anchorage is located on the seat structure;

"safety belt" means an assembly of straps with a securing buckle, adjusting devices and attachments which is capable of being anchored to a vehicle and is designed to diminish the risk of injury to its wearer, by restraining the wearer's movements in the event of a collision or of abrupt vehicle deceleration;

"the 1978 Regulations" means the Road Traffic (Construction Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1978 ( S.I. No. 360 of 1978 );

"vehicle" means a mechanically propelled vehicle having at least four wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25 kilometres per hour.

PART II FITMENT OF SAFETY BELTS OR RESTRAINT SYSTEMS

3. (1) Belt anchorages with which a vehicle is required to be equipped under these Regulations shall be of such minimum number, such size and so located as to comply with the requirements of European Communities Council Directive 76/115/EEC¹ on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to anchorages for motor-vehicle safety belts in relation to such specifications.

¹O.J. No. L24/76 dated 30.1.1976.

(2) A safety belt or restraint system the fitment of which is required by these Regulations shall be approved for installation in a vehicle by one of the authorities listed in Column 2 of Table 1 in the First Schedule to these Regulations in relation to such safety belt or restraint system itemised in Column 1 of that Table and shall bear the component approval mark specified by the relevant authority and appropriate to that item as listed in Column 3 of that Table.

(3) A child restraint the use of which is required by these Regulations, shall be approved for use in a vehicle by one of the authorities listed in Column 2 of Table 2 in the first Schedule to these Regulations in relation to such child restraint itemised in Column 1 of that Table and shall bear the component approval mark specified by the relevant authority and appropriate to that item as listed in Column 3 of that Table.

(4) In relation to each seating position, whether outboard or centre whether front seat or otherwise, the safety belt or restraint system with which a vehicle is required to be fitted under these Regulations shall be of a type specified for that class of vehicle and for such seating position in Annex XV of European Communities Council Directive 77/541/EEC² on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to safety belts and restraint systems of motor vehicles as amended by European Communities Commission Directive 90/628/EEC³

²O.J. No. L220/95 dated 28.8.77.

³O.J. No. L341/11 dated 6.12.90.

4. (1) This article applies to every passenger vehicle having accommodation for more than eight persons exclusive of the driver and every goods vehicle, in either case having a design gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kilograms and first registered on or after the 1st day of January 1992, which was not registered outside the State prior to that date.

(2) A vehicle to which this article applies shall be equipped with belt anchorages for safety belts for use by the driver of the vehicle and by each passenger occupying a forward facing front seat.

(3) A vehicle to which this article applies shall be fitted with safety belts or restraint systems for use by the driver and by each passenger occupying a forward facing front seat.

5. (1) This article applies to every passenger vehicle having accommodation for not more than eight passengers exclusive of the driver, first registered on or after the 1st day of January 1992, which was not registered outside the State prior to that date.

(2) A vehicle to which this article applies shall be equipped with belt anchorages for use by each passenger occupying a forward facing seat, not being a front seat.

(3) A vehicle to which this article applies shall be fitted with safety belts or restraint systems for use by each passenger occupying a forward facing seat, not being a front seat.

PART III USE OF SAFETY BELTS AND CHILD RESTRAINTS

6. (1) This article applies to every vehicle when used in a public place, being either—

( a ) a passenger vehicle having accommodation for not more than eight persons exclusive of the driver,

( b ) a passenger vehicle having accommodation for more than eight persons exclusive of the driver and having a design gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kilograms,

( c ) a goods vehicle having a design gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kilograms, or

( d ) a goods vehicle not exceeding 1,524 kilograms in weight unladen.

(2) Subject to the provisions of article 8 of these Regulations, the driver of a vehicle to which this article applies and a person occupying a forward facing front seat of such a vehicle shall, as and from the 1st day of January 1993, wear a safety belt or an appropriate child restraint.

(3) Subject to the provisions of article 8 of these Regulations, the driver of a vehicle to which this article applies shall not, as and from the 1st day of January 1993, permit a person who is under 17 years of age to occupy a forward facing front seat, unless that person is—

( a ) 4 years of age or upwards and is wearing a safety belt, or

( b ) restrained by an appropriate child restraint.

7. (1) This article applies to every passenger vehicle having passenger accommodation for not more than eight persons exclusive of the driver when used in a public place.

(2) Subject to the provisions of article 8 of these Regulations, a person occupying a forward facing seat, not being a front seat, of a vehicle to which this article applies shall, as and from the 1st day of January 1993, wear a safety belt or an appropriate child restraint.

( a ) 4 years of age or upwards and is wearing a safety belt, or

( b ) restrained by an appropriate child restraint.

8. (1) The requirement of articles 6 and 7 of these Regulations to wear a safety belt or to be restrained by a child restraint shall not apply to—

( a ) a person occupying a seat which is not fitted with a safety belt;

( b ) a person under 4 years of age occupying a seat, not being a front seat, of a vehicle in which there is no unoccupied appropriate child restraint;

( c ) a person who is 12 years of age or more who is less than 150 centimetres in height;

( d ) a person wearing a disabled person's belt;

( e ) the holder of a certificate of a registered medical practitioner in the form prescribed in the Second Schedule to these Regulations;

( f ) the driver of a vehicle while reversing the vehicle;

( g ) the holder of a licence under Part IV of the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 ( S.I. No. 191 of 1963 ) while driving a vehicle being used as a small public service vehicle;

( h ) a person giving instruction in or in respect of the driving of the vehicle;

(i ) a person who is conducting a test of competency to drive under Part III of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 ;

( j ) a member of the Garda Síochána or of the Defence Forces in the course of duty as such member.

(2) Where a person has been found not to have complied with a requirement of these Regulations in relation to the wearing of a safety belt or child restraint produces to a member of the Garda Síochána at a Garda Station, within one month of being so found, the certificate completed by a registered medical practitioner in the form prescribed by the Second Schedule to these Regulations the person shall not be regarded as having been in breach of such requirement.

(3) If and so long as three or more children under the age of 15 years are being carried on the vehicle the provisions of sub-articles, 7 (2) and 7 (3) of these Regulations shall apply only in so far as is reasonably practicable.

(4) In a prosecution of a person for an offence under articles 6 or 7 of these Regulations, it shall be a good defence for the defendant to satisfy the court that the safety belt or child restraint being used at the time of the alleged offence afforded a level of protection not less than that afforded by a safety belt or child restraint complying with the requirements of article 3 of these Regulations or of sub-article 4 (2) of the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 1971 ( S.I. No. 96 of 1971 ) in the case of a safety belt.

9. Part II of the 1978 Regulations is hereby revoked with effect from the 1st day of January 1993.

FIRST SCHEDULE

TABLE 1

Approval of Safety Belts and Restraint Systems.

Sub-article 3 (2) refers.

Safety Belt or Restraint System	Approval Authority	Description of Approval Mark (See Table 3 for illustrative examples)
(1)	(2)	(3)
A three point belt, a lap belt or a Harness belt, whether fitted directly or as part of a restraint system.	1. The Type Approval Authority of any E.C. Member State.	1. A rectangle surrounds the lower case letter 'e' followed by the distinguishing letter(s) or number of the Member State which has granted the EEC Component Type Approval. The EEC component type approval number is located below the rectangle. Additional symbols describing the type of belt are located above the rectangle.
	2. The approval authority of any country which applies Regulation Number 16 annexed to the Agreement of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe concerning the adoption of uniform conditions of approval and reciprocal recognition of approval for motor vehicle equipment and parts done at Geneva on 20th March, 1958.	2. A circle surrounds the letter 'E' followed by the distinguishing number of the country which has granted approval. An approval number is located below the circle. Additional symbols describing the type of belt are located above the circle.

TABLE 2

Approval of Child Restraints.

Sub- article 3 (3) refers.

Safety Belt or Child Restraint System	Approval Authority	Description of Approval Mark (See Table 3 for illustrative examples)
(1)	(2)	(3)
Any child restraint system.	1. The competent authority of a Member State of the European Community.	1. The approval mark of the competent authority of the Member State of the European Community in which the approval issued.
	2. The approval authority of any country which applies Regulation No. 44 annexed to the Agreement of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe concerning the adoption of uniform conditions of approval and reciprocal recognition of approval for motor vehicle equipment and parts done at Geneva on 20th March, 1958.	2. A circle surrounds the letter 'E' followed by the distinguishing number of the country which has granted approval. An approval number is located below the circle. The weight range is indicated above the circle.
A child restraint system for a child weighing up to 10kg.	The British Standards Institution.	The registered certification trade mark of the British Standards Institution over one of the following standards numbers:- BS AU 202 or BS AU 202a.
A carry cot restraint.	The British Standards Institution.	The registered certification trade mark of the British Standards Institution over one of the following standards numbers:— BS AU 186 or BS AU 186a.
Safety belt assemblies including child safety seats harnesses and child restraints.	The British Standards Institution.	The registered certification trade mark of the British Standards Institution over the following standards number:— BS 3254: 1988 Part II.
A Booster Cushion.	The British Standards Institution.	The registered certification trade mark of the British Standards Institution over the following standards number:— BS AU 185.

FIRST SCHEDULE

TABLE 3

Illustrative examples of Approval Marks.

Sub-article 3 (3) refers.

Belt Description	E.C. Type Approval Mark	United Nations ECE Approval Mark	British Standards Institution Approval Mark
A three point belt (A), fitted with a retractor, type 4 with multiple sensitivity (m).	Ar4m	Ar4m	not applicable.

	2439	032439
		(incorporates the 03 series of amendments at the time of approval)
A child safety seat approved for children in the weight range indicated.	Not applicable.	9kg-18kg

		0244020	BS 3254
			1988 Part 2
			Group A: 20 to 40Ib
			9-18kg

*This number varies and relates to the country which issued the approval.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Article 8 refers

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Medical Certificate of Exemption from Compulsory Safety Belt/Child Restraint Wearing.

I the undersigned, being a Medical Practitioner registered to practice medicine in an E.C. Member State, hereby certify that it is inadvisable on medical grounds for the following named patient to wear a safety belt or child restraint:

Patient's Name:............................................................ ............................................................ .............................

Patient's Date of Birth: ............................................................ ............................................................ .................

Patients' Address: ............................................................ ............................................................ .........................

............................................................ ............................................................ .......................................................

............................................................ ............................................................ ........................................... Ireland

Signed: ............................................................ ............................................................ ...........................................

Medical Practitioner.

Date:. ............................................................ ............................................................ ..............................................

Period of validity: * ............................................................ ............................................................ ........................

*Insert date of expiry (temporary medical certificate) or "Indefinite" (permanent medical certificate).

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment,

this 20th day of December 1991.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations require the compulsory fitment of anchorages and safety belts in the rear seats of new cars first registered on or after 1st January 1992. The long standing requirements for such fitments in the front seats of small passenger vehicles and light goods vehicles is being extended to new minibuses first registered on or after 1st January 1992 with more than 8 seats and a design laden weight not exceeding 3.5t. "Light goods vehicle" is redefined to include a relevant vehicle with a design laden weight not exceeding 3.5t.

The Regulations require, from 1st January 1993, the wearing of front and rear safety belts, where fitted, irrespective of the date of first registration of the vehicle. This requirement would apply to specified vehicles where the safety belts are fitted on either a mandatory or a voluntary basis.

Children may be restrained by child restraints of prescribed standards and appropriate for their weight, as an alternative to safety belts. Provision is also made for obligatory use of child restraints, where fitted, for children under 4 years of age. Children sitting in the front seat must always wear an appropriate child restraint system or safety belt. This obligation also applies to children sitting in the rear seat — except where their number exceeds the number of rear seats or where all appropriate child restraint systems or safety belts are being used by other passengers.

The Regulations implement EC Directive 91/671/EEC⁽¹⁾ on the compulsory wearing of safety belts and child restraint systems.

⁽¹⁾O.J. No. L. 373/16 of 31.12.1991.