he was exempt because the seat belt was actually fitted to the seat…so it depends on where the anchor points are as whether you will be nicked or not…
Who makes up this crap? A truck manufacturer doesn’t make a truck and start selling it in the UK, it first has to get Type Approval. This means it has to comply with all legislation in the UK, including seatbelts. Think about it for just a second, seatbelts must be fitted to trucks these days. Those belts must comply with the legislation regarding belts. The truck has been given Type Approval for the UK market. I think it is safe to assume that belts mounted in the seat are just as legal as those mounted to the cab.
Are we as drivers so gullible that every little myth spreads like wildfire? I know it does because a couple of years ago I started an ‘Urban Myth,’ I was bored one day and did it as a wind up to a driver at our place, and have since had it repeated back to me on several occasions, including just a couple of weeks ago while I was talking to another driver at an unloading point. Mind you TruckNet also helped spread it far and wide.
scantheman:
The time i was pulled by VOSA i was driving a DAF with the seat belt built into the seat,i wonder if thats why i didn’t get booked…
I would suggest you were not nicked by VOSA for it as they don’t have the power to do so. VOSA will be checking road worthiness, licence and drivers hours compliance, overloading but non wearing of a seatbelt would be outside their power and would need a police officer to nick you.
scantheman:
With the new Volvo’s you can spec bright red ones so it can be clearly seen you are wearing one. Unless you have a red shirt on of course.
I wonder how long it will be before car manufacturers follow suit…
Many cars come with different coloured belts already, especially if the are special edition models where they match the upholstery. I remember a Saxo that came with each of the four belts a different colour.
REMINDER::For those who travel in Germany the police use either a mobliehome or even coaches to check up on the truckdriver and what he /she
is doing in the cab and to see if the seatbelt is being worn, so be warned!!
My mate got done for that a couple of months ago, high roofed Sprinter sat in front of him for a couple of kilometres then pulled him over. He was shown a video of himself, in which you could clearly see what he had been doing, and he was bang to rights on the non wearing of the seatbelt. Good job he wasn’t doing a “Handbury Davies” at the time.
I know someone who is medically exempt from wearing a seatbelt in any vehicle because he has a tumour which is aggravated by where the seatbelt lies.
Doctors reports etc. confirm this, so DVLA endorsed his licence with said exemption, which later expired (they have to be renewed every so often to confirm that the medical situation still justifies it).
To renew it there is an ever increasing charge…so it has no reached the point where it is cheaper to get caught and fined several times than it is to renew the entitlement. The tumour is still there, the problem is the same, so he has decided to risk it.
Given the length of time since the exemption ran out, and the amount he would have had to pay in renewal fees, he is currently in profit.
Some years ago before seat belts were in use, I was in standing traffic M1 northbound, a truck had been involved in a pile up half a mile ahead. Nothing to do but sit there while a driver who was square wheeled southbound gave a comentary on the CB, of the serices trying to save the life of the wagon driver who was hanging head first out of the windscreen.
They didnt, I heard later he died. Myabe he had a wife and kids and wouldnt be coming home.
A couple of days later coming home I saw the wrecked truck in the services with the smashed screen .
I never forgot it. It was harrowing.
Like I said I never thought I could get used to wearing a seat belt in a wagon, but its no problem. If I drive a wagon without one now I do feel a little vulnerable.
Phil
i have allways worn one even more so after my wagon rolled over when i was in the army my co-driver was not so lucky as he was picking his teeth up trying to say i wish ihad thought or that my only injury was a deep cut to my headwhen it hit the door
trying is the first steps toward failure…h. simpson
scanny77:
other way round mate. they had to be fitted from 93 but didnt have to be worn til 01. im not an anorak, the dates are in the latest magazine and thats where i remember reading this info
I think that would be in trucks designed to take them, because I got a new Renault Major in 1996 and it didn’t have seat belts. This was probally because the cab design dated back to the 70’s (I think) therefore didn’t have suitable anchor points.
As for the French, Well they’re slacking when it comes to our truck. My co-driver spent all last year driving without a seatbelt and they didn’t stop us once.
Have they got a anonymous phone number so I can tip them off next time.
I always wear mine, feels really strage not to put one on now, any vehicle, driver or passenger, with the ones fitted to the seat never had a problem with comfort or being able to move around to see blind spots etc.
