Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations, 1991.

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 359/1991
• Year: 1991

S.I. No. 359 of 1991.
ROAD TRAFFIC (CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPMENT AND USE OF VEHICLES) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 3) REGULATIONS, 1991.
The Minister for the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 and 11 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (No. 24 of 1961) hereby makes the following Regulations:—
PART I General
	1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations, 1991.
(2) The Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 to 1991 and these Regulations shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 to 1991.
	2. In these Regulations—
"appropriate child restraint" means an approved child restraint which is appropriate to the user by virtue of the weight range indicated on the child restraint;
"belt anchorages" means the parts of the vehicle structure or seat structure, or any other part of the vehicle to which the safety belt assemblies are to be secured;
"child restraint" means a device designed for use by a child of not more than 36 kilograms in weight and which is fitted directly to suitable belt anchorages or is held in place by the restraining action of a safety belt and which is either equipped with an assembly of straps and a securing buckle or uses the straps and buckle assembly of the safety belt so as to have the effect of diminishing the risk of injury to its wearer in the event of a collision or of abrupt vehicle deceleration;
"disabled person's belt" means a safety belt which has been specially designed or adapted for use by a person with a physical handicap or disability and which is intended for use solely by such a person;
"design gross vehicle weight" of a vehicle means the gross weight of the vehicle laden with the heaviest load which it can reasonably carry having regard to the engine capacity, brakes, tyres and general construction of the vehicle and shall, until the contrary is shown, be taken to be the design gross weight of the vehicle specified by the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle, or where the design gross weight of the vehicle as specified by the manufacturer or distributor is not ascertainable, the design gross weight of the vehicle as specified by an automotive engineer;
"restraint system" means a system combining a seat, fixed to the structure of the vehicle by appropriate means, and a safety belt for which at least one anchorage is located on the seat structure;
"safety belt" means an assembly of straps with a securing buckle, adjusting devices and attachments which is capable of being anchored to a vehicle and is designed to diminish the risk of injury to its wearer, by restraining the wearer's movements in the event of a collision or of abrupt vehicle deceleration;
"the 1978 Regulations" means the Road Traffic (Construction Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1978 ( S.I. No. 360 of 1978 );
"vehicle" means a mechanically propelled vehicle having at least four wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25 kilometres per hour.
PART II FITMENT OF SAFETY BELTS OR RESTRAINT SYSTEMS
	3. (1) Belt anchorages with which a vehicle is required to be equipped under these Regulations shall be of such minimum number, such size and so located as to comply with the requirements of European Communities Council Directive 76/115/EEC1 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to anchorages for motor-vehicle safety belts in relation to such specifications.
1O.J. No. L24/76 dated 30.1.1976.
(2) A safety belt or restraint system the fitment of which is required by these Regulations shall be approved for installation in a vehicle by one of the authorities listed in Column 2 of Table 1 in the First Schedule to these Regulations in relation to such safety belt or restraint system itemised in Column 1 of that Table and shall bear the component approval mark specified by the relevant authority and appropriate to that item as listed in Column 3 of that Table.
(3) A child restraint the use of which is required by these Regulations, shall be approved for use in a vehicle by one of the authorities listed in Column 2 of Table 2 in the first Schedule to these Regulations in relation to such child restraint itemised in Column 1 of that Table and shall bear the component approval mark specified by the relevant authority and appropriate to that item as listed in Column 3 of that Table.
(4) In relation to each seating position, whether outboard or centre whether front seat or otherwise, the safety belt or restraint system with which a vehicle is required to be fitted under these Regulations shall be of a type specified for that class of vehicle and for such seating position in Annex XV of European Communities Council Directive 77/541/EEC2 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to safety belts and restraint systems of motor vehicles as amended by European Communities Commission Directive 90/628/EEC3
2O.J. No. L220/95 dated 28.8.77.
3O.J. No. L341/11 dated 6.12.90.
	4. (1) This article applies to every passenger vehicle having accommodation for more than eight persons exclusive of the driver and every goods vehicle, in either case having a design gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kilograms and first registered on or after the 1st day of January 1992, which was not registered outside the State prior to that date.
(2) A vehicle to which this article applies shall be equipped with belt anchorages for safety belts for use by the driver of the vehicle and by each passenger occupying a forward facing front seat.
(3) A vehicle to which this article applies shall be fitted with safety belts or restraint systems for use by the driver and by each passenger occupying a forward facing front seat.
	5. (1) This article applies to every passenger vehicle having accommodation for not more than eight passengers exclusive of the driver, first registered on or after the 1st day of January 1992, which was not registered outside the State prior to that date.
(2) A vehicle to which this article applies shall be equipped with belt anchorages for use by each passenger occupying a forward facing seat, not being a front seat.
(3) A vehicle to which this article applies shall be fitted with safety belts or restraint systems for use by each passenger occupying a forward facing seat, not being a front seat.
PART III USE OF SAFETY BELTS AND CHILD RESTRAINTS
	6. (1) This article applies to every vehicle when used in a public place, being either—
( a ) a passenger vehicle having accommodation for not more than eight persons exclusive of the...