From November 2009, new laws governing seatbelts and child restraints were introduced. Below is a summary of the changes:
Approved child restraintsAll children under seven years of age must be properly restrained in approved child restraints when they are travelling in a motor vehicle. Different kinds of child restraints must be used according to the age of the child, as follows:
- A baby under six months of age must be placed in a properly fastened restraint that faces the back of the vehicle, such as a baby capsule.
- A child between six months and four years of age must be in a backward or forward facing seat with a built in harness.
- A child between four years and seven years of age must be in a forward facing restraint with a built in harness or a booster seat.
Children under four years of age should not sit in the front seat of a passenger vehicle that has two rows of seats (obviously this will not be possible in a utility). A child between four and seven years of age should not sit in the front seat unless all of the other seats are occupied by children under seven years of age. The exemption to this rule is that it does not apply to buses or taxis. A child under seven years of age must be restrained in a seatbelt if there is no approved child restraint available.
Driver's responsibility to belt up
It is up to the driver to make sure that sure that each passenger is properly restrained in a seat belt or child restraint. The driver may be fined if a passenger is not wearing a seat belt. This applies to both adult and child passengers. VicRoads suggests that if a passenger refuses to wear a seatbelt the driver should stop the vehicle when it is safe to do so. The exemption to this rule is that bus and taxi drivers are not held responsible for passengers aged 16 or over. People who are over 16 years of age may be fined if they do not wear seatbelts when being driven in a taxi.
Penalties
Drivers can lose 3 demerit points from their licence if they:
- are caught driving without wearing a seatbelt
- allow a child under 16 to travel without being properly restrained.
A fine of up to 10 penalty units can apply to drivers or adult passengers who do not wear seatbelts. Drivers can also be fined up to 10 penalty units if they drive with a child passenger who is not properly restrained.
This information was sourced from the Victorian Legal Aid website. For additional information, go to their website or the VicRoads website from the links below.
