Driving Question: 4 people in the back only 3 seat belts?

Found 25th Jul 2008

if i were pulled over, would i recive a fine?would i recive points on my license? am i responsible?

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14 Comments

25th Jul 2008

yes, not sure probably no, and yes
since a standard car only takes 3 and u willing shove 4 in there lol then uh oh

25th Jul 2008

Yes or possibly yes to all. Most standard cars you're only allowed 3 in the back.

25th Jul 2008

Yup as driver of the car it is your responsibility to ensure all passengers are wearing a seatbelt. Therefore you cannot have 4 people in the back if there are only 3 belts

25th Jul 2008

You'd be resposible as there are four peoplewhen there should only be three.
If there were the right amount of people and not all were wearing seat belts, you would be responsilbe for those younger than 13 years of age (I think this is the correct age), whilst those older would be responsible for themselves, and could thus get points/fines themselves.

25th Jul 2008

No itr the passengers responsibility if an adult, or drivers if they are minors with regards seatbelts. Your car is only licenced as a 5 seater (2+3) and its your responsibilty to ensure it only carries five people at any given time not sure of the charge but if caught with more than the allowed amount of passengers you will be charged/fined and receive points.

25th Jul 2008

This reminds me of something I saw on tv the other week. A guy got pulled over for having one of his mates sitting in the kids seat with another two mates in the back and one more in front. Police were having a chat checking his details...no insurance etc turns out to be but the best bit was just before they were about to take him away he said I 've got to confess THERES SOMEONE IN THE BOOT!!!! The policeman when open the boot and could'nt help but laugh!!! Plonker!!

No worth the risk really!

25th Jul 2008

I retract my previous post, seems as this is a gray area.

Telegraph
]Telegraph The department said it was ready to consider “making n … ]Telegraph The department said it was ready to consider “making non-compliance with seat belt wearing an endorsable offence”. One option available to ministers would be to follow the example of Northern Ireland, where drivers can get penalty points on their licence if they are not wearing a seat belt but passengers failing to do so are fined. In the rest of Britain, motorists and passengers over 14 can be fined £30 for not wearing a seat belt. A driver is also responsible for any passenger 13 or under.

Too many passengers: from ]DFT

DFT
What if there are not enough seat belts for all passengers in a vehicle? … What if there are not enough seat belts for all passengers in a vehicle? Currently, the law doesn't prevent you from carrying more adult passengers than there are seat belts. However, children up to 135cms tall must use child restraints with few exceptions, which means they must use the seats in the vehicle that have seat belts to secure their restraints. That can limit carrying capacity. However, the way in which passengers are carried must not cause danger to any person in the vehicle, for instance by overloading with unbelted passengers. Adult passengers without a seat belt can injure others in an accident. The police can prosecute if they judge that an unbelted passenger is a risk to the others in the vehicle. In a vehicle without rear seat belts (for example a classic car), childer aged three and over can only travel in the back. Those under three can't be carried at all because they must always use a child restraint.

25th Jul 2008

They'll hit you with an overloaded vehicle charges instead, or something similar

26th Jul 2008

You are responsible. You will be either given a 3 point endorsable fine or reported to the court for Overloading your vehicle (Section3 Road Traffic Act), comes under careless driving.
So it is an offence comitted by the driver and it is pointlessly dangerous

26th Jul 2008

thesun.co.uk/sol…ece

The six young friends were heading home from a night out when the car they were crammed into crashed head-on with the lorry.

Their Ford Mondeo was crushed beyond recognition as the impact forced it under the truck.

The horrific smash – which even hardened police said “defied comprehension” – came on a sweeping, unlit bend of a notorious, rain-soaked road.

Last night experts were probing whether the car’s handling may have been affected by overloading.

Are you really bothered about a possible fine or points when at the end of the day you wil be risking the safety of your friends and family?

26th Jul 2008

RedIron;2612314
Are you really bothered about a possible fine or points when at the end … Are you really bothered about a possible fine or points when at the end of the day you wil be risking the safety of your friends and family?

Yep, that'd be about right....

27th Jul 2008

Your insurance would be invalid, you are only covered for the seating as advised by the car manufacturer, by your insurance company.

27th Jul 2008

You are responsible for overloading your car, but only responsible to ensure anyone under the age of 14 is wearing a seatbelt. The responsibility of the passengers over the age of 14 is theirs and they will each receive fixed penalties.

I'd read this first though, and seriously consider whether its worth taking the risk thesun.co.uk/sol…ece