GoiNg to see a defender 90 (2000) model on Saturday. It had bench seats in the back which fold up, so can accommodate six. The seats have lap belts. Where does the law and insurers stand on these bench seats? And i assume they are not a good place to be sitting if involved in an accident??

Thanks for any info in advance!

Johnmac said:

GoiNg to see a defender 90 (2000) model on Saturday. It had bench seats in the back which fold up, so can accommodate six. The seats have lap belts. Where does the law and insurers stand on these bench seats? And i assume they are not a good place to be sitting if involved in an accident??

Thanks for any info in advance!

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Technically speaking the bench seats should only seat two people on either side, they will certainly only be belted to seat two people per bench. As stated previously, if they were installed in the factory (Defender County), the V5 should state that the 90 has either six or seven seats depending on whether or not there is a centre seat at the front. In some cases, a 90 Hard Top may have been converted into a station wagon, or it may just have had rear bench seats installed. In any case, as long as the number of seat belts on the V5 document matches that of the 90, you need not worry. They are perfectly legal and they should bring up zero concern with your insurer providing that they are belted. As far as safety is concerned, a lot of people consider lap belts to be more dangerous than no seat belt at all. In my 1986 90, I have four lap belts on the benches in the back and one lap belt on the centre seat in the front. Whether or not the passengers want to wear the lap belts is up to them - I suggest the front passenger does and the back passengers don't. If you are concerned about safety you do have a couple of options:

1) Fit forward facing rear seats
2) Fit individual rear seats with a lap / shoulder belt

-Tom

Hmmm it's a landrover defender 90 td5 county hardtop 2000 plate?

Mine has lap belts factory fitted to the four inwards facing seats in the back. I dont insist that anybody wears them because as already said they can cause more injury than they prevent. I have thought about fitting proper over the shoulder belts or four point belts but as I dont regularly have rear passengers its not something that is high on my to-do list. The law only requires the fitting and wearing of seat belts to forward facing seats.

I have a seat in the rear of my 90. I added it myself and fitted the seat belt (lap belt).
I have 50 mm x 6mm bar as spreader plates for the seat and the belts( got the MOT man to check it before use as well). Insuring it wasnt a problem, as the insurance company have the fine print basically saying that all mods must be carried out to an approved standard along with all other repairs and that the vehicle must always be in a roadworthy condition