Seats and seat belts

Source: infopolitie.co.uk

Article 58a Seats

1. While participating in traffic, passengers are transported only if they are seated in seats.
2. The first paragraph does not apply to:
   • standing passengers of buses in which transportation of standing passengers is permitted;
   • passengers of buses without standing areas during occasional use of the aisle or toilet;
   • passengers transported in accordance with article 61b, paragraph 2, subparagraphs a, b and d;
   • passengers, under 3 years of age, in buses;
   • passengers under 18 years of age and less than 1.35 meters in height who use a seat suitable for these passengers that is part of the structure of the vehicle, is securely fastened therein and is equipped with seat belts;
   • transporting passengers who use a wheelchair as referred to in Article 59, paragraph 4;
   • The carriage of one person 8 years of age or older on the luggage rack by bicyclists excluding moped riders.
   • passengers using a berth, if no more than one passenger is located on one berth.
3. Contrary to the first paragraph, on bicycles and mopeds, passengers under 8 years of age shall be transported only if they are seated on an efficient and safe device with adequate support for back, hands and feet.
4. Drivers are prohibited from transporting passengers in any manner other than that prescribed in this article.

This provision makes explicit that passengers must be transported on seats constructed for that purpose and therefore not on improvised seats or seats for use while stationary, such as, for example, seat corners of motorhomes. This requirement is included from a passenger protection perspective. After all, there are requirements for seats and their construction.

The use of seats is also subject to obligations to protect passengers. In particular, it concerns the use of seat belts and child protection devices. This requirement does not apply where it does not make sense or cannot be enforced: in buses in which the carriage of standing passengers is permitted and in the case of occasional use of the aisle or toilet in buses without standing places.

Furthermore, the obligation does not apply in the event that additional seats for children are provided in the car. This happens especially in station wagons. These seats do not meet the definition of “seat” in Article 1, section ar, RVV 1990. Paragraph 2(b) permits the use of these seats for children by children, provided that the seat is specially adapted for them, the seat is part of the structure of the vehicle, it is securely fastened and is equipped with seat belts.

Also, the obligation does not apply to the transportation of passengers in wheelchairs, provided that such transportation is carried out in accordance with the requirements listed in Article 59(4) RVV 1990.

Finally, the obligation also does not apply with respect to the transportation of persons on the rack of a bicycle. This explicitly refers only to bicycle transportation. Drivers of a moped bike are not allowed to carry persons on the carrier of a moped bike.

Finally, the obligation does not apply in cases where the transportation of persons in a cargo space and in or on a trailer is permitted under Article 61b, parts a, b and d, RVV 1990. In view of the equipment of vehicles used for the benefit of the armed forces, Article 58a also falls outside the enumeration of articles from the Regulations on Traffic Rules and Traffic Signs 1990, which are declared applicable in the Royal Decree of December 15, 1994, implementing Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Road Traffic Act 1994 on traffic regulations for military traffic in ordinary circumstances

Article 59: Car belts

1. Drivers of a motor vehicle or a moped and their passengers use the seat belt available to them. Passengers who are under 18 years of age and less than 1.35 meters tall shall use a child restraint system suitable for them and bearing an approval mark referred to in Article 22, paragraph 4 of the Law. When the seats intended for passengers are equipped with car belts, no more passengers shall be transported on these seats than there are car belts.
2. With a passenger car, a commercial vehicle, a three-wheeled motor vehicle with closed bodywork or a micro-mobile not equipped with a seat belt or child restraint system as referred to in the first paragraph, no passengers younger than 3 years of age shall be transported, and passengers aged 3 to 18 years with a height of less than 1.35 meters shall be transported in a seat other than one of the front seats.
3. Passengers younger than 18 years of age shall not be transported in a rear-facing child seat in a passenger seat with a front airbag unless the airbag is disabled or automatically deactivated in an adequate manner.
4. The first paragraph does not apply to passengers who use wheelchairs. These passengers are transported in a wheelchair that is secured in the vehicle in a manner that ensures the stability of the wheelchair and the safety of the wheelchair user. Such passengers shall use the seat belt that is part of the vehicle or the system by which the wheelchair is secured to the floor of the vehicle, unless a structure designated by Our Minister is used.
5. The first paragraph, second sentence, and the second paragraph do not apply during cab transport as referred to in the 2000 Passenger Transport Act. In vehicles used for cab transport in which there is no child restraint system, passengers under 18 years of age and less than 1.35 meters tall shall be transported in a seat other than one of the front seats.
6. Subsection 1 insofar as it relates to drivers and subsection 4 shall not apply during the transportation of passengers for remuneration within the meaning of the 2000 Passenger Transport Act, other than in cases in which an agreement as referred to in section 84, subsection 2, of that Act has been concluded, or other than during cab transportation in a cab equipped for wheelchair transport in accordance with the requirements set pursuant to section 80, subsection 3, of the 2000 Passenger Transport Decree.
7. The seat belt, safety belt or child restraint system shall be used in a manner that does not or cannot adversely affect its protective function. Persons 18 years of age and older and persons under 18 years of age who are not required to use a child restraint system in the particular circumstances may, if necessary, use a device by which the diagonal portion of the seat belt is guided over the shoulder. Our Minister may specify further requirements for such a facility.
8. Drivers of the vehicles mentioned in the first paragraph are prohibited from transporting passengers under 12 years of age and passengers who use a wheelchair in a manner other than that prescribed in this article.
9. The first paragraph does not apply to passengers using a berth. These passengers, if available, shall use the appropriate safety device that is part of the vehicle or the system that attaches the berth to the floor of the vehicle.

Since March 1, 2006, drivers of a motor vehicle or a moped and their passengers were required to use the seat belt available to them. Passengers, under 18 years of age and smaller than 1.35 m, must use a child restraint suitable and approved for them.

The requirements to use a seat belt or child restraint thus also applied to motor vehicles such as agricultural and forestry tractors and motorcycles, with or without a sidecar. This did not make sense, however, because in it or -on it a seat belt or child restraint cannot be adequately fastened.

Due to the April 1, 2008 amendment, these requirements apply to drivers and passengers of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, three-wheel motor vehicles with closed bodies and mopeds, and not to drivers and passengers of other motor vehicles and mopeds.

Article 59a

1. Contrary to Article 59, paragraphs 1 and 8, drivers of a bus and their passengers aged 3 years or older shall use the seat belt or child restraint system with which the bus is equipped when they are seated and the vehicle is participating in traffic.
2. Passengers of a bus in motion shall be informed that it is mandatory to use the restraint system mentioned in the first paragraph when they are in their seats and the vehicle is participating in traffic. This communication is made in one or more of the following ways:
   1. by the driver, conductor, tour guide or a person designated as a group leader;
   2. by audiovisual means;
   3. by inscriptions or the following icon.
      The pictogram shall be clearly displayed on each seat when used.
3. In deviation from article 59a, paragraph 1, passengers of buses in which the transport of standing passengers is permitted need not use a restraint system, and passengers of buses performing urban or regional transport within built-up areas according to a timetable need not use a restraint system.Drivers of buses are prohibited from transporting passengers under 12 years of age in a manner other than that prescribed in this article.
4. Drivers of buses are prohibited from transporting passengers under 12 years of age in a manner other than that prescribed in this article.
5. The first paragraph does not apply to passengers using a berth. Such passengers, if available, shall use the appropriate safety device that is part of the vehicle or the system that attaches the berth to the floor of the vehicle.
6. Article 59b

1. In derogation of Article 59, paragraphs 1 and 8, other than in the front seats in passenger cars and vans, if after installation of two child restraint systems it is not possible to install a third child restraint system and these restraint systems are in use, a third passenger who is 3 years of age or older and less than 1.35 meters in height may be transported when using a seat belt. Article 59, paragraph 7, applies.
2. In deviation from article 59, subsection 1, sentence 2, and subsection 8, in incidental cases and over short distances in passenger cars and vans, passengers who are 3 years of age or older and less than 1.35 meters tall may be transported in seats other than the front seats when these passengers use a seat belt. This does not apply with respect to passengers whose parent is driving or owns or holds the car.