266 Wearing of seatbelts by passengers under 16 years old
(1) [Rule 266 Subrule (1) amended by S.R. 2021, No. 128, Applied:22 Dec 2021] The driver of a motor vehicle (except a bus, motor bike or quad 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.
(2) If the passenger is under 6 months old, he or she must be restrained in a suitable and properly fastened and adjusted rearward facing approved child restraint.
Note 1Approved 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 under 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 1Approved 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 under 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 an approved seatbelt that is properly adjusted and fastened; or
(c) if he or she is seated in a category 2 or category 3 seat as defined in Standards Bulletin VSB 5A –
(i) be restrained by an approved seatbelt, of the lap and sash type, that is properly adjusted and fastened; or
(ii) have the midsection of his or her body restrained by an approved seatbelt, of the lap and sash type, 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 1Approved booster seat and approved child restraint 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 See rule 372 for special transitional rules.
(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.
NoteMedical 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.
NoteAuthorised 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 under 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 seats are occupied by passengers who are also under 7 years old; or
(b) there is no empty seating position in which the passenger can sit in accordance with this rule.
(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.
NoteMedical 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.
NoteAuthorised 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
(b) he or she –
(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 subrule (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.
NoteApproved child safety harness is defined in subrule (7).
(5) The driver of a 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 taxi for the passenger; and
(b) if the 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 taxi who are the same age as the passenger to be restrained in an approved child restraint.
NoteTaxi is defined in the dictionary.
(5A) If the exemption set out in subrule (5) applies to a driver in relation to a passenger who is one year old or older, but under 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 taxi or tow truck is exempt from subrules (2) and (2A) in relation to a passenger who is under one year old if no suitable approved child restraint is fitted and available for use and the 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 one 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 one 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 or juvenile justice vehicle.
NoteCorrectional vehicle and juvenile justice vehicle are defined in the dictionary.
(6) For this rule –
(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; and
(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.
(7) In this rule –
approved booster seat means a booster seat approved, for the Road Rules, under another law of this jurisdiction;
approved child restraint means a child restraint approved, for the Road Rules, under another law of this jurisdiction;
approved child safety harness means a child safety harness approved, for the Road Rules, under another law of this jurisdiction;
Standards Bulletin VSB 5A means the National Code of Practice of that name issued by the Australian Government's Administrator of Vehicle Standards and subtitled Commercial Manufacture and Installation of Additional Seats.