If seat belt fitted to a vehicle it must be used

Under a bold heading, “Who has to wear a seat belt in NZ”, you have stated drivers of a bus and the passengers do not have to wear a seat belt.

The real situation is that in New Zealand if a seat belt is fitted to a vehicle it must be used.

If a seat belt is fitted in a heavy vehicle, as they are in most new trucks now, they cannot legally be removed to get around having to wear them.

All light small passenger vehicles ( for up to 12 people including the driver) must be fitted with seat belts and they must be used by all occupants.

A heavy passenger vehicle ( over 3500kg) is not required to have seat belts even for fewer than 12 occupants. However, if buses are fitted with seat belts ( all InterCity coaches have them) they must be worn by all occupants including the driver.

We drivers have difficulty already in getting the passengers to use the seat belts and I can already hear passengers’ voices ringing in my ears that the “New

Zealand Herald said ...”. Our responsibilty as drivers is simply to point out to passengers that seat belts are fitted and it is law that they be used.

The standard fee for not using the seat belt is $ 150, as you state in the article, and that is payable by the passenger, not the driver or the owning company.

Most heavy buses fitted with seat belts now have a sign alerting passengers of the requirement to use them.