Seat Belts

Milsey

Hi all, Im just wondering what are the legal requirments for seat belts in a Camper van. I have a '94 peugot j5 converted to a camper . It has 3 seat belts but can carry more people than 3 so just wondering what the story is with campervans and seat belts. Thanks

Buford T Justice

You need a seat belt for every passenger in the van. at the very least the gardai will stop you for passengers with no seatbelts.

Unless they're forward facing then I would go with lap belts.

Aidan_M_M

Fingers McGee wrote: »

You need a seat belt for every passenger in the van. at the very least the gardai will stop you for passengers with no seatbelts.

Unless they're forward facing then I would go with lap belts.

Not so , according to some of our customers who are Gardai , in the Templemore Training college. Same rules as a car, in that if there is a seatbelt forevert passenger , they must be used , but if for instance , you only had 2 rear belts , and 4 passengers , as long as 2 of them are wearing the 2 belts , you aren't breaking the law! Weird logic , but true . I can only assume it's that they don't want every Tom/Dick/Harry fitting belts and bolting them to the fridge , the cushion backs , the water tanks......

Buford T Justice

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Not so , according to some of our customers who are Gardai , in the Templemore Training college. Same rules as a car, in that if there is a seatbelt forevert passenger , they must be used , but if for instance , you only had 2 rear belts , and 4 passengers , as long as 2 of them are wearing the 2 belts , you aren't breaking the law! Weird logic , but true . I can only assume it's that they don't want every Tom/Dick/Harry fitting belts and bolting them to the fridge , the cushion backs , the water tanks......

Well thats certainly interesting to know..........

One job scratched off my list.

Irishgoatman

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Not so , according to some of our customers who are Gardai , in the Templemore Training college. Same rules as a car, in that if there is a seatbelt forevert passenger , they must be used , but if for instance , you only had 2 rear belts , and 4 passengers , as long as 2 of them are wearing the 2 belts , you aren't breaking the law! Weird logic , but true . I can only assume it's that they don't want every Tom/Dick/Harry fitting belts and bolting them to the fridge , the cushion backs , the water tanks......

This is certainly a grey area.
With a car, if it's on the log book as a 5 seater, you must have a seat belt for 5 people.
My camper log book shows it as a 4 seater but, it has 2 front seats, driver and passenger but in the camper part (no access from the cab) it just has the 2 bench seats that convert to beds and on which you could seat a lot more than another 2 if you were really stupid! but, obviously there are no seat belts. In my case it would be unlikely that there was ever more than just me but some people...........

Aidan_M_M

I agree , thats why I asked a few of our Garda customers to check it out.

dickwod1

Im in the same situation 5 seats and only 2 belts in my camper and i cant find any info anywhere (rsa aa etc) anybody got any solid facts about this !!! please and thanks

Milsey

Very grey area indeed. Thanks for replys lads, It seems as if theres nearly no law on campers but i'm sure the answer is out there. I'll keep watching for more info.

demoreino

As far as i know you are not breaking any law travelling in a camper without a seat belt if there is none provided but if they are provided you must use them at all times when the vehicle is moving. BUT, your insurance is a differant thing altogether. Your policy clearly states that everybody travelling in the vehicle must have a seat belt and in the event of an accident ( God Forbid ) if it is found that someone was not wearing a seat belt your insurance will become void and basically your up the creek.
Kevin www.iwmotorhomes.ie

Aidan_M_M

yes Kev , but who among us can legally fit a seat belt ?

dickwod1

And does anybody here know of anyone who fits these after market seat belts and prices for fitting etc ? I can see seat belts on eBay for not alot of money but its the fitting that has to be done by the pro's

Buford T Justice

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

yes Kev , but who among us can legally fit a seat belt ?

Define 'legally'. I think i'm missing something there.

HereAndThere

Is there anyone in Ireland fitting belts and how much does it cost?

Aidan_M_M

Fingers McGee wrote: »

Define 'legally'. I think i'm missing something there.

ok , if there was an accident , god forbid , and an occupant was hurt , the insurance people coukld kick over the fact that they weren't factory fitted , or fitted by someone qualified .. there;s a lot of science and rules and so on that go on in the design and installation of anything safety related.

Buford T Justice

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

ok , if there was an accident , god forbid , and an occupant was hurt , the insurance people coukld kick over the fact that they weren't factory fitted , or fitted by someone qualified .. there;s a lot of science and rules and so on that go on in the design and installation of anything safety related.

Dolmen don't seem to have a problem with it under a conversion though, All my belts are fitted by me, and they know it. Checked by an 'engineer' though.

Irishgoatman

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

ok , if there was an accident , god forbid , and an occupant was hurt , the insurance people coukld kick over the fact that they weren't factory fitted , or fitted by someone qualified .. there;s a lot of science and rules and so on that go on in the design and installation of anything safety related.

I bought a car from new about 10 years ago and although it was listed as a 5 seater on the log book it only had 4 seat belts.
When I spoke to the dealer about this he said that the mounts are there for a centre lap belt if I wanted one fitted.
He fitted one for me, no problem

So my question is would any belts have to be fitted by a dealer for the make of vehicle or can any qualified engineer fit them?
what do you think Aidan_M_M ?

dickwod1

While were on the campervan subject does anybody know who to get the gas water heater, fridge and blow heater serviced from -im new to campervans so all help welcomed ...Thanks

Irishgoatman

Hi Dickwod1,

We're always on the subject of campervans. That's all we ever talk about.
Not sure if that classifies us as nerds or not:D.

Milsey

Irishgoatman wrote: »

Hi Dickwod1,

We're always on the subject of campervans. That's all we ever talk about.
Not sure if that classifies us as nerds or not:D.

Now Irishgoatman, ya know well

dickwod1

Hi Dickwod1,

We're always on the subject of campervans. That's all we ever talk about.
Not sure if that classifies us as nerds or not.

Hi Irishgoatman I dont mind admitting im a nerd :Dand im glad there's lots of talk about campers (i need all the help i can get):) so who can service the gas appliances onboard is it the local home gas boiler once a year heating engineer or is it a specialist (if so who?) thanks again

Aidan_M_M

Irishgoatman wrote: »

I bought a car from new about 10 years ago and although it was listed as a 5 seater on the log book it only had 4 seat belts.
When I spoke to the dealer about this he said that the mounts are there for a centre lap belt if I wanted one fitted.
He fitted one for me, no problem

So my question is would any belts have to be fitted by a dealer for the make of vehicle or can any qualified engineer fit them?
what do you think Aidan_M_M ?

Yeah but "E" approved mounts were there , as designed in by the manufacturer.

I'm sure a qualified engineer could do it , but we don't do it .