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sidefx

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#258694 16-Oct-2019 10:00
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I'm curious about current seatbelt law in NZ.  I'm solely interested in the law and not debates on what is " international best practice" etc

 

Looking here:

 

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/safety/vehicle-safety/safety-belts-and-restraints/child-restraints/using-child-restraints-in-new-zealand/

 

It says:

 

 

From 8th birthday to 14 years old Must use safety belts if available. If not available, they must travel in the back seat. Over 14 years old Must use safety belts where they are available.

 

 

This seems to suggest that children only need to use safety belts "where they are available" - but what does this mean? As a kid it wasn't unusual to ride in the back tray of a ute with no seatbelt or boot of a station wagon.  Does this cover this wording cover these scenarios?

 

What about vans which I don't think legally have to have seatbelts in every seat? Can people ride without seatbelts in the seats of a van which don't have seatbelts?  What about motorhomes? Buses obviously don't legally have to have seatbelts in every seat, but when does a van become a bus?

 

What about scenarios where I'm giving friends a ride in my car and we end up with four people on the backseat.  Can one person forgo wearing a seatbelt because it's "not available"?

 

 

 

The roadcode is slightly less ambiguous with regards to children:

 

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/roadcode/about-driver-responsibility/safety-belts-and-child-restraints/

 

 

Children aged eight to 14 must wear a safety belt.

 

Passengers 15 years and over are responsible for making sure that they wear their own safety belts correctly and that they keep them fastened while the vehicle is in motion.

 

 

But still doesn't cover scenarios where seatbelts "aren't available" and doesn't say that much about adults other than people over 15 must ensure their own seatbelts are worn correctly.

 

It also has the following even more confusing statement:

 

 

Never put an adult and a child together in the same safety belt.

 

 

Which almost seems (by omission) to suggest that 2 adults or 2 children could share the same safety belt in scenarios where there isn't 1 seatbelt for every passenger?

 

 





"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there."         | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
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richms
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  #2337971 16-Oct-2019 10:02
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If there is no belt in the back of the 50s car they are in, they dont have to wear one is what they are saying. Seatbelts are only required after some year that is so long ago it doesnt matter now except for classic and vintage cars. Which you wouldnt want a child in to mess it up anyway.





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sleemanj
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  #2341129 20-Oct-2019 20:54
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RUR part 7.1

(1)
A person must not ride in or on a vehicle, or in or on an object conveyed on a vehicle, in a manner or position that may be liable to cause injury to that person

That rather open-to-interpretation statement I think is what covers the not floating around in a ute tray type of deal. Part 7 is what defines all the seatbelt wearing rules

http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2004/0427/latest/DLM303618.html?




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James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...


scuwp
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  #2341183 21-Oct-2019 08:47
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I think you are over analysing something quite basic. The exemption is there because there are some older cars and some categories of vehicles that are not required to have seatbelts in all seated positions. The other part is quite clearly to prevent 2 people using a single seatbelt, which I thought would have been quite obvious. I think it's quite clear personally.




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