The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Amendment of the Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993

9.  For regulation 10 (exceptions relating to children) for paragraph (1) substitute—

“(1) The prohibitions in Article 24(3) and (4) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 do not apply in relation to—

(a) a child for whom there is a medical certificate;

(b) a small child aged under 3 years who is riding in a taxi licensed for public or private hire, if no appropriate seat belt is available for him in the front or rear of the vehicle;

(c) a small child aged 3 years or more who is riding in a taxi licensed for public or private hire, or a small bus and wearing an adult belt if an appropriate seat belt is not available for him in the front or rear of the vehicle;

(d) a small child aged 3 years or more who is wearing an adult belt and riding in a passenger car or light goods vehicle where the use of child restraints by the child occupants of two seats in the rear of the vehicle prevents the use of an appropriate seat belt for that child and no appropriate seat belt is available for him in the front of the vehicle;

(e) a small child who is riding in a vehicle being used for the purposes of the police, security or emergency services to enable the proper performance of their duty;

(f) a small child aged 3 years or more who is wearing an adult seat belt, who because of an unexpected necessity, is travelling a short distance in a passenger car or light goods vehicle in which no appropriate seat belt is available for him; or

(g) a disabled child who is wearing a disabled person’s belt or whose disability makes it impracticable to wear a seat belt where a disabled person’s belt is unavailable to him.

(2) The prohibition in Article 24(3) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 does not apply in relation to a child aged under 3 years riding in a rear seat of a small bus.

(3) The prohibition in Article 24(3) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 does not apply to a small child aged 3 years or more riding in a rear seat of a small bus if neither an appropriate seat belt nor an adult belt is available for him in the front or rear of the vehicle.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3), a reference to an appropriate seat belt in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 2 shall be read as including reference to an adult belt.

(5) The prohibition in Article 24(3) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 does not apply to a child riding in a small bus—

(a) which is being used to provide a local service in a built-up area, or

(b) which is constructed or adapted for the carriage of standing passengers and on which the operator permits standing.”.