Fewer than half of red minivans have seat belts

More than half the licensed red minivans used for school transport are not equipped with seat belts and are under no legal obligation to install them, The Times has learnt.

The vans that do not have safety belts are exempted from installing them under European Union regulations because the vehicles were manufactured before 1997.

In the case of white minivans, which are also used on the school run, the situation is different because most of them do have seat belts.

Official figures seen by The Times indicate that only 185 of the 388 licensed red minivans have seat belts, that is, 47 per cent of the total.

In the case of licensed white minivans, 308 of the 375 on the road, or 82 per cent, have seat belts.

Regulation 95 (2) of the Motor Vehicles Regulations stipulates that "seat belts shall be fitted to all seats on the following motor vehicles registered to be used on the roads in Malta: (a) M1, M2 and N1 motor vehicles manufactured on or after January 1, 1998; (b) M3 motor vehicles, except those intended to also carry standing passengers, and N2 and N3 motor vehicles manufactured on or after October 1, 2001".

"The market can choose which vans it prefers from among those available on the minivan market to provide school transport," a Transport Ministry spokesman said.

M2 vehicles are those used for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's and having a maximum vehicle weight not exceeding five tonnes.

M3 vehicles are used for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat, and having a maximum vehicle weight exceeding five tonnes.

Most minibuses used on the island, whether 14-seater or 18-seater, are M2 vehicles. There are, however, some 18 seaters that are classified as M3 vehicles.

The onus of enforcement of the use of seat belts in minivans falls on the police and local wardens. However, other EU laws are being enforced by Malta Transport Authority (ADT) officers during road-side checks.

"Malta is fully implementing and enforcing the EU directive relating to the compulsory use of safety belts and child-restraint systems in both passenger-carrying and goods-carrying vehicles," the spokesman said.

The spokesman said that the only concession Malta has was that vehicles carrying schoolchildren under the age of 10 may apply the 3 to 2 rule - three children on a two-seater. This had been in force for many years but, since May 10, the two-year concession expired and Maltese minivan drivers now have to apply the one-to-one rule .

To this end, the ADT's enforcement unit is monitoring minibuses - and other vehicles - to ensure they are applying the one-to-one rule.

The ministry spokesman said the ADT began holding inspections to ensure that public transport vehicles were carrying the maximum number of passengers allowed on the vehicles in question and to assess the general condition of the vehicles.

To date, more than 134 checks have been carried out.

While carrying out the spot-checks, the ADT officers just make sure there is one child for every seat in the vehicle but do not check whether the children are wearing seat belts because that falls outside their responsibility.