I am currently reffiting interior of van and am wondering about the legality of using rear seats for passengers. I have read and understood many posts on here and elswhere on the question of seat belts for rear pasengers. However I can find no specific advice on the legality of using rear seats while moving.
The van is registered as having 3 seats (across the front).
Should I update reg details to include the side facing seats I intend to build in? Would this make them legal to use for passengers?
The MOT on a Motorhome does not check if seat belts are fitted to the rear seats, nor does it check them if they are fitted, so I assume there is no 'legal' requirement to have them fitted, but if you plan to carry passengers when travelling then from a safety point of view you should have them. My MH had them when I bought it and They were fitted for 3 MOT's but not checked. I removed them last year as I never carry passengers in the back and again this year's MOT the inspector didn't even look inside further back than the cab even though the MOT seems to have tightened up considerably on what constitutes a Fail.
Its not the seatbelts Im'e worried about. Its the fact that the vehicle is registered as having 3 seats. I would like to change the front double passenger seat for a single. This would require the occasional use of rear seats for extra passenger/s.
(Ah! just realised, changing the front double passenger seat for a single would give me a spare "registered" seat.)
Hi Steven, If you are going to fit front facing seats it's a good idea to fit seat belts if you are going to fit side on seats it is not recommended to fit seat belts because they can cause severe injuries
The seats will be side facing, and I will NOT have any seatbelts on them.
My worry is more to do with the legality of adding and using "home made" seats in a van that is registered as having only 3 seats. Do I need to change registration? Do they need to comply to any standard?
Just got reply from DVLA:-
Due to the high volumes of enquiries we are currently receiving, there will be some delay in replying.
My registration document is blank against seating capacity although it is a 5 berth and has 2 front seats in cab, 2 forward facing and 2 rear facing seats in the body as well as the long sideways seat which could seat 3 or 4 people. As I mentioned earlier I removed all the internal seat belts to improve comfort and to make it easier for storage in the under seat cupboards where the original seat belt fittings were fixed through the floor. As stated above it is dangerous to fit seat belts to sideways seats.
Just checked, My reg doc is also blank against seats.
From what people are saying, its seems that you can carry passengers on almost any old box in the back of a van! This suprises me. Still it makes my build easier.
Anyone ever needed to test this with plod?
btw. I will not be subjecting my passengers to "any old box". They will be more secure than many flimsy "pro" builds I have seen.
Hi - Have already asked the question from my motorhome manufacturer ..
You can legally have side facing seats without belts. Tests showed that passengers in side facing seats waering lap belts received more injury than without. If the seats face forward, they MUST have factory fitted belts!
So, to answer your question, fit side facing seats, and no, you don't need to advise DVLC.
Thanks for the advice all. You are much more efficient than DVLA! (if that is not damming with faint praise)
Weather permiting I will get the seats & bed done this weekend. Don't expect to need to use rear seats that often. Its just on occasional times we might have a passenger or two.
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Topic: Rear seats.
