9. Wearing of seatbelts by passengers un9. Wearing of seatbelts by passengers under 7 years old

9. Wearing of seatbelts by passengers under 7 years old

(1) For rule 266(2) substitute – “(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 a seatbelt that is properly adjusted and fastened.

Note 1: Approved child restraint and approved booster seat are defined in subrule (7) 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.”.

(2) For rule 266(3) substitute – “(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 all of the other seats in the row or rows behind the front row are occupied by passengers who are also under 7 years old.”. (3) In rule 266 – (a) in subrule (4): (i) for “at least 1 year old” substitute “7 years old or older”; (ii) omit “, and is not exempt from wearing a seatbelt under rule 267”; (iii) after paragraph (b)(iii) insert: