S.L. 65.12 Art. 2Interpretation.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

''adult'' means a person who is twelve years of age or over;

''car for hire'' means a motor vehicle which is constructed to have a seating capacity of not more than five passengers, excluding the driver, and which is licensed to be hired from a public service garage to be driven by the owner of such garage or by such other person as is authorised by him; ''certificate of medical exemption'' means a certificate drawn up in terms of the Second Schedule and issued by a competent medical authority, certifying that it is inadvisable on medical grounds for a person to wear a seat belt;

''child'' means a person who is three years of age or over but who is under the age of twelve years;

''child restraint system" means a device combining a seat, fixed to the structure of the vehicle by appropriate means which, until the 9th May, 2008, has at least one anchorage point located on the seat structure carrying the United Nations ‘E’ mark or BS ‘kitemark’, and which, after the 9th May, 2008 conforms with UN-ECE Regulation 44/03 or Directive 77/541/EEC or UNECE Regulation 129 or any other subsequent adaptation thereto and which shall be installed in accordance with fitting information (such as those found in the instruction manual, leaflet or electronic publication) provided by the manufacturer of the child restraint system declaring in what manner and in which vehicle types the system may be safely used. Child-restraint systems are subdivided into two classes -

(a) an integral class comprising a combination of straps or flexible components with a securing buckle, adjusting device, attachments and, in some cases, a supplementary chair and/or impact shield, capable of being anchored by means of its own integral strap or straps; and

(b) a non-integral class that may comprise a partial restraint which, when used in conjunction with an adult belt which passes around the body of the child or restrains the device in which the child is placed, forms a complete child-restraint system; ''competent medical authority'' means a medical practitioner or group of medical practitioners;

''driver'' means the person who drives a motor vehicle on the public highway;

''front seat'' in relation to a vehicle means a seat which is wholly or partially in the front of the vehicle alongside the driver’s seat;

''motor vehicle'' means, for the purpose of these regulations, any mechanically self-propelled vehicle intended for use on the public highway, having at least four wheels and a maximum designed speed exceeding 25 kilometres per hour; ''M1, M2 and M3 motor vehicles'' have the same meaning assigned to them by the Motor Vehicles (Weights, Dimensions and Equipment) Regulations;

Provided that for the purpose of these regulations M2 and M3 vehicles do not include route buses;

''N1, N2 and N3 motor vehicles'' have the same meaning assigned to them by the Motor Vehicles (Weights, Dimensions and Equipment) Regulations; ''public highway'' means national arterial, distributor, acess and local access roads; ''rear seat'', in relation to a vehicle, means any seat which is not a front seat, or a driver’s seat or a seat alongside the driver’s seat; ''rearward-facing'' means facing in the direction opposite to the normal direction of travel of the vehicle; ''route bus'' means a vehicle designed to carry also standing passengers, and which is normally used to provide a scheduled service; "safety system" means any seat belt or child-restraint system which is designed to diminish the risk of injury to its wearer, in the event of collision or of abrupt vehicle deceleration, by limiting the mobility of the wearer’s body; ''seat'' means a structure which may or may not be integral with the vehicle structure complete with trim, intended to seat one adult person. The term covers both an individual seat and part of a bench intended to seat one person;

''seat belt'' means an assembly of straps with a securing buckle, adjusting devices and attachments capable of being anchored inside a power-driven vehicle and designed to diminish the risk of injury to the person wearing it. It may include a lap belt, a diagonal belt, a three-point belt or a harness belt;

''taxi'' means a motor vehicle fitted with a taximeter and registered and licensed to ply for hire as a taxi; ''young child'' means a person who is under the age of three years. Part II WEARING OF SEAT BELTS BY ADULTS