Seat belts and passengers

congo_90

I recently had an arguement with two friends who were in my car.

it was over two things: taking their belt off before the car was stopped (when they were getting out)

and

improperly wearing their belts in my car. ie; shoulder strap placed under arm into arm pit or put behind them.

Basically i agrued that doing this or not sitting properly would have dire results in an accident. I wouldn't mind so much but i'm a young male driver so i'm paying enough for insurance as is.

Am i right to have voiced my opinion or would they be safe? considering most cars have a 2point lap belt in the centre of the car while mine has 5 3 point belts.

What is the law regarding belts? if the passenger isn't wearing one properly am
i still insured??

it really annoyed me and i won't allow them in the car now
Thanks in advance.....

Anan1

You're perfectly right. If push came to shove, i'd throw a passenger out for not wearing a seatbelt. Particularly if they were sitting behind me.:)

mikemac

Your car, your rules. If they don't like it, they may get a lift elsewhere.
They also lose the right to complain about your taste of music! Only fair

And afaik, if they are minors and not wearing their seatbelt and you get stopped at a checkpoint, then it's you who gets the points.

Trampas

If they are minors and not wearing seatbelts especially if they are yours then you shouldn't be allowed drive.

I am sick of seeing kids no seat belts on in the back and the parents all strapped up in the front.

Its like that since they are young nothing will happen to them.

vengeance52

i wont start my car until all who's in my car are belted.

ninty9er

vengeance52 wrote: »

i wont start my car until all who's in my car are belted.

I'll start it but I won't move.

Profiler

micmclo wrote: »

And afaik, if they are minors and not wearing their seatbelt and you get stopped at a checkpoint, then it's you who gets the points.

Actually I think it doesn't matter if they are minor's or not, adults or not, unbelted passengers in a car get the driver penalty points (unless it's yer wee dog....)

Seth Brundle

Tell them to get out if they don't use them properly!
http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/seatbelts/download/julie07.mpg

cabrwab

Do not for a second disagree
id rather people wore seat-belts but a person under 17 you get points, over that its there problem! Ill say it once!

I was in a friends car in holland recently and he turned around before he started the car and said everybody seat belts on please. Was kinda strange never had anybody doing it before.

Anan1

Trampas wrote: »

If they are minors and not wearing seatbelts especially if they are yours then you shouldn't be allowed drive.

Read the OP's post.

congo_90

ninty9er wrote: »

I'll start it but I won't move.

Same as me

Profiler wrote: »

Actually I think it doesn't matter if they are minor's or not, adults or not, unbelted passengers in a car get the driver penalty points (unless it's yer wee dog....)

I always assumed no matter what age its still points on my licence/insurance

cabrwab wrote: »

I was in a friends car in holland recently and he turned around before he started the car and said everybody seat belts on please. Was kinda strange never had anybody doing it before.

I always say that if i have back seat passengers at night (can't see their belts) i simply won't take off until i hear all belts click.

My main concern is if the front seat passenger is wearing it wrong (as in my original post). Also one of the two girls who i argued with never sits properly in the car while not wearin the seat belt. she prefers to sit in a kind of sideways position.

Toots

vengeance52 wrote: »

i wont start my car until all who's in my car are belted.

+1, that's the only thing I'm really fussy about. I also wouldn't carry more passengers than I had belts for. At the end of the day it's really not worth taking any risks over. AFAIK if it's a minor unbelted in the car, you get points and if it's someone over 17 they get fined?? I'm not sure how much truth there is in that though. I'd make everyone wear their seatbelt as it is designed to be worn ie: around the waist and over the shoulder.

Profiler wrote: »

(unless it's yer wee dog....)

I've even got a seatbelt for my wee dog

Anan1

I used to go out with a girl who never wore her seat belt. One day, when driving her MX-5 with her as the (unbelted) passenger, I hit the brakes fairly hard, just to give her some inkling of the forces involved. That was in 2001, we broke up a year or so later. I bumped into her last summer, she still has a little bump on her head from where she caught the rear view mirror.

congo_90

"If a driver is convicted in court of a seat belt offence, 4 penalty points will be endorsed on their driving licence record and they will be liable to a maximum fine of €800 for a first offence. A driver who is detected committing a seat belt offence will have the option to pay a fixed charge of €60 within 28 days or €90 if paid within 56 days and incur 2 penalty points instead of opting to go to court."

from:
http://www.transport.ie/viewitem.asp?id=4066&lang=ENG&loc=1345

Toots

That site was very informative. Unfortunately the fine for passengers was a lot less than I'd been telling my mates! I told them getting caught unbelted would cost them 200 lids. I don't think I could be blamed for keeping quiet about that

congo_90

Toots85 wrote: »

That site was very informative. Unfortunately the fine for passengers was a lot less than I'd been telling my mates! I told them getting caught unbelted would cost them 200 lids. I don't think I could be blamed for keeping quiet about that

A few porky pies don't hurt lol

ivanthehunter

Profiler wrote: »

Actually I think it doesn't matter if they are minor's or not, adults or not, unbelted passengers in a car get the driver penalty points (unless it's yer wee dog....)

wrong!!
Adults can do as they please(or as much as you allow in your car), if they are caught wearing no belts in a moving car then they(not the driver) will receive the penalty points.
Drivers will only receive penalty point if they are caught driving with un-belted passengers who are under the age of 18.

where the law is a bit fuzzy in my mind is at the point were a driver has overloaded a car beyond it carrying capacity? Who gets the points then?

congo_90

ivanthehunter wrote: »

wrong!!
Adults can do as they please(or as much as you allow in your car), if they are caught wearing no belts in a moving car then they(not the driver) will receive the penalty points.
Drivers will only receive penalty point if they are caught driving with un-belted passengers who are under the age of 18.

where the law is a bit fuzzy in my mind is at the point were a driver has overloaded a car beyond it carrying capacity? Who gets the points then?

I think the driver should be responsible for an over loaded car after all they're in control of the vehicle thus responsible for the safe journey of all passengers. I don't understand why people over load cars. Its just plain silly

Carawaystick

which part of "Passengers aged 17 years and over face on the spot fine of €25 for not wearing a seat belt." says non driving occupants of a car get penalty points?

I think the OP is over-reacting to passengers taking off their belt as they are getting out. is it like 10 yards before the car stops or a half mile before? in the first case I can't see anything wrong.

any way here's one.
you're driving on a motorway with no hard shoulder and a child passenger takes off their seatbelt. do you imediately stop and wait til they put it back on or wait til you can stop legally?

Steve

ivanthehunter wrote: »

wrong!!
Adults can do as they please(or as much as you allow in your car), if they are caught wearing no belts in a moving car then they(not the driver) will receive the penalty points.
Drivers will only receive penalty point if they are caught driving with un-belted passengers who are under the age of 18.

where the law is a bit fuzzy in my mind is at the point were a driver has overloaded a car beyond it carrying capacity? Who gets the points then?

That may be true or may no - don't know.

At the end of the day though, the driver is the one in control and deciding whether or not to drive.

If his opinion is that the passengers are unsafe, then they should belt up properly or walk.

Alanstrainor

I had a recent situation where friends who had cycled into college wanted a lift home in my ford focus with bikes in the boot/across folded down back seats, there was already one non cyclist passenger in the car which meant that there would be no seats for the two cyclists, they said they'd "lie in the back, sure we'll be grand". Now i knew the law regarding occupants over 18 and seatbelts but what about that situation, where the seats are down and the occupants are just lying in the back? Just to let yee know i flat out refused and told them to F off, but they've been giving me guff ever since.

congo_90

Carawaystick wrote: »

which part of "Passengers aged 17 years and over face on the spot fine of €25 for not wearing a seat belt." says non driving occupants of a car get penalty points?

I think the OP is over-reacting to passengers taking off their belt as they are getting out. is it like 10 yards before the car stops or a half mile before? in the first case I can't see anything wrong.

any way here's one.
you're driving on a motorway with no hard shoulder and a child passenger takes off their seatbelt. do you imediately stop and wait til they put it back on or wait til you can stop legally?

I would clearly pull over safely where-ever possible. why would I stop in the middle of a motor way? a seat wont save me from a truck ploughing into me then.

A lot can happen in 10 yards. i once had a child run out in front of me from behind a parked car. the fact that i was already stopping to paralell park saved his life.

I WILL not take off if all passengers don't have their belts on. and if possible i always pull over if they take them off. i have since posting this got two texts from both girls apologising.

Steve

Carawaystick wrote: »

any way here's one.
you're driving on a motorway with no hard shoulder and a child passenger takes off their seatbelt. do you imediately stop and wait til they put it back on or wait til you can stop legally?

Can't help but remember growing up in the 70s/80s.

There were 4 of us (young kids) in the back, there was either a fight to sit on the central arm rest or lie on the parcel shelf....

seat belts? pfft.

If one of us was particularly bad, we'd be told to climb into the front and have to sit on mam's lap - all while doing 60mph.

How times have changed....


p.s. nobody died because of it either.

congo_90

@stevec, ironically i remember those days too. sittting in the back of a van doing 90mph on a motorway no problem. :rolleyes: