According to a report published in 2024 by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, only one Italian out of three wears the rear seat belts correctly, despite the compulsory date back to 1989. Here are all the rules and penalties
Rear seat belts, these unknown. According to a report published in the autumn of 2024 by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Only one in three Italian wears them correctly. In the collective memory of our country, the mandatory nature of wearing the seat belts even for those who employ the rear seats dates back to 2006 with a legislative decree that provided for the implementation of a community directive issued in 2003, but in reality it is not so. The first obligation dates back to Law number 143 of April 22, 1989 signed by the then President of the Republic Francesco Cossiga and entered into force five days later, on April 27th. In particular, theArticle 22 paragraph 1 recites: “motor vehicles of the M1 category (i.e. cars up to 9 seats and maximum mass of up to 3.5 tons, editor’s note) referred to in Annex I of the aforementioned decree of the Minister of Transport of 29 March 1974, registered Two years from the date of entry into force of this law, they must be equipped with seat belts in correspondence with all seats provided, in accordance with the directive of the Council of the European Communities of 20 July 1981, n. 81/576/EEC “. But it is paragraph 4 ofArticle 23 That he establishes, for the first time in our country, the compulsory: “After two years from the date of entry into force of this law, the passengers occupying the rear places of the vehicles of the M1 category haveobligation to wear the seat belt“. A decree that followed the law 111 of 11 April 1988, with which the mandatory nature of the use of seat belts for i was sanctioned only front seats.
Security belts: Article 172 of the Highway Code
–
Below is article 172 of the highway code currently in force as per recent reform. “The driver and passengers of the vehicles of category L6E, equipped with a closed bodywork, referred to in Article 4, paragraph 2, letter f), of Regulation (EU) n. 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of January 15th 2013, and of the vehicles of the M1, N1, N2 and N3 categories, referred to in article 47, paragraph 2, of this code, equipped with a seat belt, they are obliged to use them in any marching situation. The children of stature less than 1.50 m must be insured at the seat with a withholding system for children, adequate for their weight, of the type approved according to the regulations established by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, in accordance with the regulations of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations or to the equivalent EU directives “. At this point it is useful to remember the acronyms of the types of vehicles: L6e they are light four -podicycles equipped with closed bodywork, M1 They are cars up to 9 seats and maximum mass up to 3.5 tons, M2 And M3buses, N1or trucks with a maximum mass of up to 3.5 tons, N2trucks with a maximum mass between 3.5 and 12 tons, finally, N3 Trucks with a maximum mass of more than 12 tons.
Safety belts: penalties
–
THE’art. 172 of the Highway Code is extremely clear: “Anyone who does not use the withholding devices … is subject to the administrative sanction of the payment of a sum from 83 to 332 euros. When non -use concerns the minor, the violation replies the driver, That is, if present on the vehicle at the time of the fact, who is required to surveillance the minor himself “. If the driver has been sanctioned for the same violation twice in two years, he risks suspension of the license from a minimum of 15 days to a maximum of 60 days. Those who alter or hinder the regular functioning of the seat belts will be subject to a fine from 41 to 167 euros, while for those who market, it matters or produce non -approved withholding devices for a penalty from 866 to 3,464 euros. The driver found driving without belt loses 5 points on the license and, in the event of a recidivism within two years, there is also a suspension of the license from 15 days to two months. The new highway code entered into force last December confirmed the principle, reiterated by Cassationwhich, on a criminal level, The driver has a duty to guarantee compliance with the obligation to use the seat belts by passengers. Failure to supervise this obligation makes him responsible for the crime of culpable personal injuries or whimsical murder, in addition to obliging him to compensate the damages deriving from the failure to use the safety devices. If passengers do not respect the obligation and the driver decides to use the car the same, two different situations may occur:
- If the passenger without belt is adulthe will have to pay the administrative sanction provided by the Highway Code without any reduction of the points of the license, neither for the passenger, nor for the driver. In the event that the passenger does not pay the fine, the state can claim the owner of the vehicle which can be different from the driver;
- If the sanctioned passenger is underage and the driver of the vehicle is in charge of the surveillance of the minor (in the absence of a parent or an adult person to whom he entrusted), the driverin addition to finealso undergoes the reduction of the license points.
Another risk that you run if one of the passengers travels without having connected the seat belt is in the case of
accident. The driver is held responsible civilly and must take on the civil and criminal liability of the damages by compensating the passenger in the event of material damage, injuries or death. In case of Passenger death without beltthe driver can be indicted for the crime of Road murder which provides for imprisonment from 2 to 7 years, with aggravating circumstances in the event of driving in a state of intoxication or under the effect of drugs.
Seat belts: who is free
–
The legislation provides for some cases of exemption from the obligation to use seat belts.
- Belonging to police forces and to the municipal and provincial police bodies in carrying out an emergency service.
- Belonging to armed forces in carrying out institutional activities in emergency situations
- Drivers and vehicles of the vehicles of the Fire and health service in case of emergency intervention.
- Vehicle drivers with specific installations for Waste collection and transport and vehicles for special use, when used in environmental hygiene activities in the field of inhabited centers, including industrial and crafts areas.
- Drivers belonging to recognized private surveillance services that carry out stocks.
- Driving instructors who accompany the aspiring candidates for the driving license with the pink sheet.
- People with particular pathologies or in physical conditions that constitute specific contraindication to the use of these devices. The condition must be recognized and attested by a specific certification issued by the local health unit or by the competent authorities of another Member State or of the European Communities.
- Pregnant women With a certificate issued by the attending gynecologist attesting to the particular risk conditions related to the use of belts.
- Passengers of M2 and M3 vehicles authorized to transport passengers standing and used for local transport and circulating in the urban area.
© RESERVED REPRODUCTION