New rules impose belts for vans and minibuses

Date: 26/06/03

MANUFACTURERS must fit vans and minibuses with seatbelts by mid-2006, under tough safety rules adopted by the European Commission.

The directive - part of a blueprint to halve EU road deaths by the end of the decade - will also force companies to fit seats better adapted for children under three in cars and light vans often used for private purposes.

Urban buses designed to make frequent stops escape the full force of the law but member states would be free to choose whether or not to impose the seatbelt rules on these vehicles.

Erkki Liikanen, the commissioner for enterprise and the information society, said the law would help fight the "intolerable annual slaughter on our roads".

The directive fills a gap in the law that allows commercial vehicles to escape the stringent rules already governing private cars.

All cars placed on the market since 1988 have had to have safety belts on all seats - this currently affects 14 million new vehicles per year. From July 2004, the two million commercial vehicles produced annually will face the same rule. This includes tourist coaches, where seat belts should stop passengers from being ejected if the vehicle overturns.

The Commission had already unveiled a law in April, forcing all EU citizens to use seat belts or baby car seats by May 2006.

Under new rules adopted by the European Commission all vans and minibuses manufactured from 2006 must be fitted with seatbelts.