The operation of vehicles is prohibited if:

Explanation

If the seat belts provided for in the vehicle's structure are missing.

The law's criterion is "provided for in the structure": if the manufacturer fitted the vehicle with seat belts, those belts must be present and sound. Removing a belt — something occasionally done in older cars or on little-used rear seats — prohibits operation of the vehicle on its own.

Remember the safety reason through one simple figure: in a collision the body is thrown forward at the same speed the vehicle was travelling. A belt spreads this energy over several tens of centimetres and across the strong bones of the pelvis and ribcage; without a belt, the same energy is released over a few centimetres against the steering wheel, the windscreen or the asphalt. An unrestrained rear-seat occupant also becomes a projectile himself and may strike those in front. Nor is the airbag a substitute for the belt; it is designed for a body the belt has held in the right place.

The second option is a colour trap: reversing lamps must show white light. Their being white gives a clear message to the driver behind that the vehicle is backing up; so this condition complies with the standard and is not a defect.

• White light is precisely the standard colour for reversing lamps, and fitting them at the rear complies with the regulations; what makes an offence is swapped colours, such as a red reversing lamp. • Since the second item is not a defect, the combined option is ruled out too.

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