Seat belt law for lorry and van drivers

I've recently started working as a Light Goods Vehicle driver. I recently went to work for a company through an agency, whilst checking over the vehicle before my journey I discovered that there were no seat belts on the vehicle. Having brought this to the attention of the company and agency, they still wanted me to drive as there were no other spare lorries. They told me the vehicle was legal as commercial vehicles are exempt from having seat belts. I still refused to drive much to their disgust, and the agency have taken me off their books as a result! I have tried to find the exact ruling over seat belts and lorries, and have found something stating that lorries made pre October 2001 are still exempt, therefore drivers can legally drive without wearing one. Is this true?

Since October 2001 it has been compulsory to fit seat belts to all new trucks (and vans weighing more than three-and-a-half tonnes) for the driver and in any other forward-facing seats.

Older trucks may not be fitted with seat belts, in which case there is no legal requirement to wear one. However, it is strongly recommended that drivers wear seat belts as a minimum crash protection measure and not having them fitted in a commercial/work environment may well fall foul of Heath and Safety guidelines. You may wish to consult HSE about this. Please advise us how you get on if you do so.

Further the seat belt law for van drivers and passengers changed on 1 March 2005. Delivery drivers used to have an exemption from wearing a seat belt when conducting ‘local’ deliveries although prior to this amendment there was no maximum distance specified for ‘local’ deliveries. The seat belt exemption for delivery drivers now only applies when travelling 50m or less between deliveries or collections. It is hoped that this amendment will raise the wearing rates of seat belts in vans.

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