Seat belts and child restraints
| What the rule is | Where it goes wrong | |
|---|---|---|
| The driver | Uses the seat belt available to them. No exception for short trips or low speed. | “I am only driving round the corner.” The law names no distance: the duty applies as soon as the car moves. |
| Passengers | They too use the belt available to them. Art. 59 names driver and passengers in one sentence. | Thinking belts are optional in the back. The text draws no line between front and rear seats. |
| Child restraint system | Required when two conditions hold TOGETHER: under 18 years old and shorter than 1.35 metres. The system must carry an approval mark. | Remembering one condition. “Under 1.35 m” and “under 12” are both incomplete: the law says “and”, not “or”. |
| Number of passengers | On seats fitted with belts, no more passengers than there are belts. Four belts in the back never means five people. | “Children count as half.” They count as passengers; an extra child on a bench without a free belt cannot come along. |
The law itself
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