When researching going on the road full time in our double decker motorhome I wanted to make sure that we’d be following the seat belt laws wherever we go so I did what most of us do, I Googled “RV Seatbelt Laws.”
While I found a lot of great opinions and some nice charts and tables from generally reliable blogs I noticed that none of these blogs actually gave sources for their information. That’s because RV seatbelt laws are difficult to find. They seem to be buried in between the lines of passenger vehicle seatbelt laws and only mentioned in exclusions and definitions.
So, I’ve done a little further digging and found actual sources for the seatbelt laws, exemptions, and definitions. The primary sources I’ve found for RV seatbelt laws (including bus conversions) come from the National Highway Traffic Stafety Administration (NHTSA) as well as the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
The main questions I was trying to get answers for is Are Seatbelts Required for Passengers in an RV or Motorhome? The answer depends on the weight of your motorhome.
Keep in mind the laws are regularly changing in each state and ignorance to the law does not make you innocent if you break the law. I am not an attorney and this article is not legal advice. Please be sure to do additional research of your own and find the most recent government sources possible. Also, keep in mind that the law is merely the minimum requirement and there are many other suggestions and recommendations out there from reliable sources that you may want to seriously consider.
To understand the RV seatbelt laws in each state we first need to understand the passenger vehicle seatbelt laws and also the classes or types of RV’s.
So here’s a quick break down of the different classes of RV’s just to help you out. I break them down into two categories: Towables and Driveables.
Towables
These are the non-motorized RV’s
1) Truck Campers
2) Pop-up Campers
3) Bumper Pull Trailers (a.k.a. Travel Trailers)
4) Fifth Wheel Trailers
For the purposes of this article I won’t be reviewing any of the passenger safety laws for any of the non-motorized RV’s.
Driveables
There are three main classes or categories of drivable RV’s or Motorhomes:
1) Class C’s
2) Class B’s
3) Class A’s
Within each of these classes there may be subclasses, but the seatbelt laws are the same within each individual class of RV.
Class C Motorhomes are usually built on van chassis and have a living/sleeping area over the cab of the vehicle. Class C’s typically weigh between 10,000 to 12,000 pounds and are required to meet Federal seatbelt standards for front occupants, but not rear occupants.
Class B Motorhomes are generally van conversions and usually weigh between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds. Class B’s are required to meet Federal seatbelt standards for front and passenger occupants.
Class A Motorhomes are the largest motorhomes that are typically built on bus chassis, but they are not required to meet bus occupant safety standards for rear seating. Class A’s usually weigh between 15,000 and 30,000 pounds. Class A RV’s are NOT required to meet Federal seatbelt standards for rear occupants.
It’s important to note that the NHTSA generally does not crash test RV’s and therefore seatbelt requirements may not always apply due to weight variations of RV’s that exceed the requirements. When it comes to passenger vehicles required to meet seatbelt standards the NHTSA only includes vehicles that weigh less than 10,000 lbs so most Class A and Class C RV’s are excluded because they’re usually much heavier.
Also, you must keep in mind that even though an RV or motorhome has a lap belt or shoulder belt in the dinette or bench area it may not have ever been crash tested and therefore you may get a false sense of security.
Finally, while the purpose of what I discuss in this post is primarily relating to motorhomes and RV’s it does require that I review the passenger vehicle seatbelt laws and then review the exemptions and definitions for RV’s. I absolutely believe that seatbelts and child safety seats should always be used when traveling in a passenger vehicle. If you cannot afford a safety seat for your child PLEASE contact your states Department of State Health Services, Safe Riders Program. I have not done research on the contact info for this program in each state, but for my home state of Texas the phone number for the Safe Riders Program is 1-800-252-8255.