Seat Belt in UK Law

Leading Cases
  • Stanton v Collinson
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 24 Febrero 2010

    Both parties in this appeal urged upon us, in different contexts, the undesirability of a prolonged or intensive enquiry in these cases. They were right to do so; there is a powerful public interest in there being no such enquiry into fine degrees of contributory negligence, so that the vast majority of cases can be settled according to a well-understood formula and those few which entail trial do not mushroom out of control.

  • Froom v Butcher
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 21 Julio 1975

    In these seat belt cases, the injured plaintiff is in no way to blame for the accident itself. Sometimes he is an innocent passenger sitting beside a negligent driver who goes off the road. At other times he is an innocent driver of one car which is run into by the bad driving of another car which pulls out on to its wrong side of the road. It may well be asked: Why should the injured plaintiff have his damages reduced? The accident was solely caused by the negligent driving by the defendant.

    In most accidents on the road the bad driving, which causes the accident, also causes the ensuing damage. The damage is caused in part by the bad driving of the defendant, and in part by the failure of the plaintiff to wear a seat belt. If the plaintiff was to blame in not wearing a scat belt, the damage is in part the result of his own fault. He must bear some shire in the responsibility for the damage: and his damages fall to be reduced to such extent as the Court thinks just and equitable.

    Whenever there is an accident, the negligent driver must bear by far the greater share of responsibility. But insofar as the damage might have been avoided or lessened by wearing a seat belt, the injured person must bear some share. This question should not be prolonged by an expensive inquiry into the degree of blameworthiness on either side, which would be hotly disputed. Suffice it to assess a share of responsibility which will be just and equitable in the great majority of cases.

    At other times the evidence will show that the failure made all the difference. The damage would have been prevented altogether if a seat belt had been worn. In such cases I would suggest that the damages should be reduced by 25%.

    But often enough the evidence will only show that the failure made a considerable difference. Some injuries to the head, for instance, would have been a good deal less severe if a seat belt had still been worn, but there would still have been some injury to the head. In such case I would suggest that the damages attributable to the failure to wear a seat belt should be reduccd by 15%.

    Everyone knows, or ought to know, that when he goes out in a car he should fasten the seat belt. It is so well known that it goes without saying, not only for the driver, but also the passenger. If either the driver or the passenger fails to wear it and an accident happens – and the injuries would have been prevented or lessened if he had worn it – then his damages should be reduced. The finger would have been broken any way and the damages for it not reduced at all.

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Legislation
  • Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1978
    • UK Non-devolved
    • 1 de Enero de 1978
    ...... Protective steering mechanism . . . . . . . . . . 16. Seat belts and anchorage points . . . . . . . . . 17. Speedometer . . . ... points to be provided for any seat which is a seat with integral seat belt anchorages. . (4) Every vehicle to which this Regulation applies shall be ......
  • Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995
    • UK Non-devolved
    • 1 de Enero de 1995
    ......Protective measures: seat belts, helmets, etc. Protective measures: seat belts, helmets, etc. . ... (b) (b) may, for the purpose of implementing the seat belt Directive, authorise the wearing of a seat belt approved under the law of ......
  • The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2017
    • UK Non-devolved
    • 1 de Enero de 2017
  • The Road Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2020
    • UK Non-devolved
    • 1 de Enero de 2020
    ....../31/EC.1 Does not apply to doors which do not give direct access to a seat designed for normal use while a vehicle is travelling on a road. This ... a plate is required on completion of each stage as appropriate.19Seat Belt AnchoragesThe technical provisions of Directive 76/115/EEC as last amended ......
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Books & Journal Articles
  • Analyzing seat belt usage from accident data
    • No. 17-1, March 2015
    • International Journal of Police Science and Management
    Intensive traffic enforcement has been shown to promote the compliance of roadway motorists and reduce traffic violations. However, prior research on seat belt enforcement has generally neglected t...
  • Is Anti-Paternalism Enough?
    • No. 66-3, August 2018
    • Political Studies
    The article addresses the question of how sufficiency for the imprudent may be ensured. Imprudent conduct includes both spectacular acts such as jumping from heights into water, and everyday acts a...
    ...... and everyday acts and omissions such as neglecting to fasten one’s seat-belt. We argue that to avoid thoroughly bad or insufficient situations, ......
  • Impact of traffic Enforcement on Traffic Safety
    • No. 19-4, December 2017
    • International Journal of Police Science and Management
    Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) have a huge cost to society in terms of death, injury and property damage. The cost of fatal MVCs alone is estimated at US $44 billion per year. Among many confounding ...
    ......The modeling results showed that higher numbers of speeding and seat belt cit ations reduce the number of c rashes significantly. Th ese ......
  • Do Seat-Belts Reduce Road Casualties? Safety Interventions and Changes in the Driver's Behaviour
    • No. 72-4, October 1999
    • Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles
    ......Certainly the potential ofseat-belts in reducing casualty rates is difficult to fault. For a givenseverity of collision, seat-belt use limits motionofthe self within thevehicle and ejection from the vehicle. Particularly compelling evidencecomes from UScases in which a vehicle ......
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Law Firm Commentaries
  • Cycling To Success
    • Mondaq UK
    ...... Geraint to strap in using German utility model DE29806407 and its seat belt device for two wheelers. . Fig. 2 DE29806407U1 "Seat belt device ......
  • Health And Safety Fines Bulletin - 14 January 2015
    • Mondaq UK
    ...... Recycling   company in court after worker fell from conveyor belt. Injury:  . Multiple   rib fractures. Fine:. £70,000. ... £5,609. Source:  . HSE, 12   January 2015. Seat   belt could have saved life of estate worker. Injury:  . ......
  • Court Considers Contributory Negligence, Capacity And Consent
    • Mondaq UK
    ......that his two friends sat him in the front seat of the car, where he. fell asleep. The Claimant's friends went back into ...seat belt in the rear near side passenger seat, his head would have. struck the ......
  • Automotive Technology - A New Battleground For Patent Wars?
    • Mondaq United Kingdom
    ......, or perhaps following Volvo's free licences for the three-point seat belt).  A smartphone maker refusing to license their technology and thus ......
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