South Australian Current Regulations South Australian Current Regulations266—Wearing of seatbelts by passengers under 16 years old
(1) The driver of a
motor vehicle (except a bus or motor bike) that is moving, or is stationary
but not parked, must ensure that this rule is complied with for each passenger
in or on the vehicle who is under 16 years old.
Offence provision.
Note—
"Bus", "motor bike", "motor vehicle" and "park" are defined in the dictionary.
(2) If the passenger
is less than 6 months old, he or she must be restrained in a suitable and
properly fastened and adjusted rearward facing approved child restraint.
Note 1—
"Approved child restraint" is defined in subrule (7) and "rearward
facing" is defined in subrule (6A).
Note 2—
See subrule (4B) if a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required
by this subrule because of his or her height or weight.
(2A) If the passenger
is 6 months old or older, but is less than 4 years old, he or
she must be restrained in a suitable and properly fastened and adjusted—
(a)
rearward facing approved child restraint; or
(b)
forward facing approved child restraint that has an inbuilt harness.
Note 1—
"Approved child restraint" is defined in subrule (7) and "forward facing"
and "rearward facing" are defined in subrule (6A).
Note 2—
See subrule (4C) if a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required
by this subrule because of his or her height or weight.
(2B) If the passenger
is 4 years old or older, but is less than 7 years old, he
or she must—
(a) be
restrained in a suitable and properly fastened and adjusted forward facing
approved child restraint that has an inbuilt harness; or
(b) be
placed on a properly positioned approved booster seat and be restrained by
either a suitable lap and sash type approved seatbelt that is properly
adjusted and fastened, or by a suitable approved child safety harness that is
properly adjusted and fastened; or
(c) if
he or she is seated in a seating position in a part of the vehicle that is
designed primarily for the carriage of goods—
(i)
be restrained by a suitable lap and sash type seatbelt
that is properly adjusted and fastened; or
(ii)
have the midsection of his or her body restrained by a
suitable lap type seatbelt that is properly adjusted and fastened, and have
his or her upper body restrained by an approved child safety harness that is
properly adjusted and fastened.
Note 1—
"Approved booster seat", "approved child restraint" and "approved child safety
harness" are defined in subrule (7), "approved seatbelt" is defined in
the dictionary and "forward facing is defined in subrule (6A).
Note 2—
See subrule (4D) if a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required
by this subrule because of his or her height or weight.
Note 3—
In relation to paragraph (b), subrule (4E) permits an approved child
safety harness to be worn instead of the sash part of a lap and sash seatbelt.
Note 4—
In relation to paragraph (c), under rule 268(2) a person may only occupy
a seating position in a part of a vehicle that is designed primarily for the
carriage of goods if that position is suitable for the size and weight of the
person.
(2C) The driver does
not have to ensure subrule (2), (2A) or (2B) is complied with for a
passenger if—
(a) the
driver is carrying a medical certificate that states a medical practitioner
believes the passenger should not be restrained in any of the ways described
in those subrules because of a medical condition or disability that the
passenger has; and
(b) the
passenger is properly restrained in a child restraint that has been designed
for, and is suitable for use by, the passenger or a person with the same
medical condition or disability as the passenger; and
(c) the
driver is complying with any conditions stated in the medical certificate; and
(d) no
other law of this jurisdiction states that this subrule does not apply.
Note—
"Medical certificate" and "medical practitioner" are defined in the
dictionary.
(2D) However, the
driver is exempt under subrule (2C) only if the driver immediately produces
the medical certificate when an authorised person or police officer asks to
see the certificate.
Note—
"Authorised person" and "police officer" are defined in the dictionary.
(3) A passenger who is
under 4 years old must not be in the front row of a motor vehicle
that has 2 or more rows of seats.
(3A) A passenger who
is 4 years old or older, but is less than 7 years old, must not be
in the front row of a motor vehicle that has 2 or more rows of seats
unless in the row or rows behind the front row—
(a) all
of the other seats are occupied by passengers who are also less than
7 years old; or
(b)
there is no empty seating position in which the passenger can sit in
accordance with this rule.
Example—
This subrule would permit a 6 year old to sit in the front row of a
vehicle that has 2 rows of seats if 2 occupied approved child
restraints in the back row encroached on an empty seating position between
them in a way that made it impossible for another approved child restraint or
booster seat to be placed in that position.
(3B) The driver does
not have to comply with subrule (3) or (3A) if—
(a) the
driver is carrying a medical certificate that states a medical practitioner
believes the passenger should be in the front row of the vehicle because of a
medical condition or disability that the passenger has; and
(b) the
driver is complying with any conditions stated in the medical certificate; and
(c) no
other law of this jurisdiction states that this subrule does not apply.
Note—
"Medical certificate" and "medical practitioner" are defined in the
dictionary.
(3C) However, the
driver is exempt under subrule (3B) only if the driver immediately produces
the medical certificate when an authorised person or police officer asks to
see the certificate.
Note—
"Authorised person" and "police officer" are defined in the dictionary.
(4) If the passenger
is 7 years old or older but under 16 years old—
(a) he
or she must be restrained in a suitable approved child restraint that is
properly adjusted and fastened; or
(i)
must occupy a seating position that is fitted with a
suitable approved seatbelt; and
(ii)
must not occupy the same seating position as another
passenger (whether or not the other passenger is exempt from wearing a
seatbelt under rule 267); and
(iii)
must wear the seatbelt properly adjusted and fastened.
Note—
In relation to paragraph (b)(iii), subrule (4E) permits an approved child
safety harness to be worn instead of the sash part of a lap and sash seatbelt.
(4A)
Subrules (2), (2A), (2B) and (4) do not apply if the passenger is
exempt from wearing a seatbelt under rule 267.
(4B) If a passenger
cannot safely be restrained as required by subrule (2) because of his or
her height or weight, he or she must be restrained as if subrule (2A)
applied to him or her.
(4C) If a passenger
cannot safely be restrained as required by subrule (2A) or (4B)
because of his or her height or weight, he or she must be restrained as if
subrule (2B) applied to him or her.
(4D) If a passenger
cannot safely be restrained as required by subrule (2B) or (4C)
because of his or her height or weight, he or she must be restrained as if
subrule (4) applied to him or her.
(4E) In the case of a
passenger sitting in a seating position that is fitted with a lap and sash
type seatbelt, it is sufficient compliance with subrule (2B)(b)
or (4)(b)(iii), as the case may be, if, instead of using the sash part of
the seatbelt, an approved child safety harness that is properly adjusted and
fastened is used to restrain the upper body of the passenger.
Note—
"Approved child safety harness" is defined in subrule (7).
(5) The driver of a
public minibus or taxi is exempt from subrules (2), (2A) and (2B) in
relation to a passenger if—
(a)
there is no suitable approved child restraint available in the minibus or taxi
for the passenger; and
(b) if
the minibus or taxi has 2 or more rows of seats—the passenger is not in
the front row of seats; and
(c)
there is not another law of this jurisdiction requiring all passengers in a
minibus or taxi who are the same age as the passenger to be restrained in an
approved child restraint.
Note 1—
"Public minibus" and "taxi" are defined in the dictionary.
Note 2—
Despite the exemption provided by this subrule, in order to comply with
subrule (5A) the driver of a taxi or public minibus must ensure that
passengers who are 1 year old or older, but less than 7 years old,
wear an approved seatbelt.
(5A) If the exemption
set out in subrule (5) applies to a driver in relation to a passenger who is
1 year old or older, but less than 7 years old, and who is not
exempt from wearing a seatbelt under rule 267, the passenger must wear an
approved seatbelt that is properly adjusted and fastened to the best extent
that is possible given the height and weight of the passenger.
(5B) The driver of a
public minibus, taxi or tow truck is exempt from subrules (2) and (2A) in
relation to a passenger who is under 1 year old if no suitable approved child
restraint is fitted and available for use and the public minibus, taxi or tow
truck has 2 or more rows of seats and the passenger is not in the front
row of seats and—
(a) the
passenger under 1 year old is seated in the lap of a passenger who is
16 years old or older; and
(b) in
the case of a tow truck, the passenger under 1 year old is being transported
from a location where the vehicle that the passenger was travelling in is
being towed by the tow truck where it is necessary to tow the vehicle because
the vehicle has broken down or has been involved in a crash.
(5C) This rule does
not apply to the driver of a correctional vehicle, juvenile justice vehicle or
sheriff's vehicle.
SA NOTE—
For South Australia, see regulation 36 of the Road Traffic (Road
Rules—Ancillary and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2014 .
Note—
"Correctional vehicle", "juvenile justice vehicle" and "sheriff's vehicle" are
defined in the dictionary.
(a) an
approved child restraint is available in the motor vehicle for a passenger if
an approved child restraint is fitted in the vehicle and is not occupied by
someone else under 16 years old; and
(b) an
approved child restraint or approved seatbelt is suitable for a passenger if
it is suitable for restraining, or to be worn by, the passenger.
(6A) For this rule, a
child restraint that is properly fastened and adjusted—
(a) is
forward facing if, once it restrains a passenger, his or her head is closer to
the rear of the vehicle than his or her feet;
(b) is
rearward facing if, once it restrains a passenger, his or her feet are closer
to the rear of the vehicle than his or her head.
"approved booster seat" means a booster seat approved, for the
Australian Road Rules , under another law of this jurisdiction.
"approved child restraint" means a child restraint approved, for the
Australian Road Rules , under another law of this jurisdiction.
"approved child safety harness" means a child safety harness approved, for the
Australian Road Rules , under another law of this jurisdiction.
SA NOTE—
For South Australia, see regulation 35 of the Road Traffic (Road
Rules—Ancillary and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2014 .