What is the penalty for not wearing a seatbelt in the front passenger seat of a taxi?
2 Answers
Passengers in the front seat of a taxi who fail to wear a seatbelt will be fined without penalty points. According to relevant laws and regulations, when a motor vehicle is in motion, both the driver and passengers must use seatbelts as required. Drivers who violate road traffic safety laws and regulations concerning road usage will be subject to a warning or a fine. Below is relevant information about seatbelts: 1. The purpose of wearing a seatbelt: To prevent drivers and passengers from being thrown out of the vehicle; to counteract deceleration during a collision, ensuring that drivers and passengers do not experience a secondary impact with objects such as the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield. 2. The correct way to wear a seatbelt: (1) The lap belt should be positioned snugly across the lower part of the hips, making direct contact with the femur. In a collision, the force is distributed over the pelvic bones, preventing the belt from tightening around the abdomen and causing serious injury; (2) The shoulder belt should rest across the shoulder and chest. These parts of the body can better withstand the restraining force of the seatbelt; (3) To secure the lap belt, pull down on the buckle end while simultaneously pulling up on the shoulder belt.
I've been driving a taxi for nearly ten years, and I encounter passengers not wearing seat belts in the front passenger seat almost every day. According to traffic laws, if passengers in the front passenger seat don't buckle up, we drivers can be fined 200 yuan. In big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, it's even stricter—sometimes points are deducted, which can affect our livelihood. I’ve learned the hard way—once I was fined 250 yuan plus a warning, and that day’s earnings were wiped out. Passengers often say it’s a short trip and nothing will happen, but accidents can strike in an instant. Seat belts save lives—I’ve seen plenty of rollover cases on highways where those buckled up survived. I always keep reminder stickers in my car and verbally tell every passenger: Safety first, don’t skip those few seconds.
