Will AI cameras know I’m exempt from sporting a seat belt?

I was issued with a GP Exemption Certificate in 1995 and had this renewed.

When I moved to a different county in 2006, I was told that these certificates had been discontinued.

I moved to another county in 2019 and asked my Motability Advisor what I should do to update. 

He told me that my Blue Badge is sufficient, and I have no need to mention my disability specifically if the police stop me.

Please can you tell me whether the GP issue Exemption Certificates are now being recommended in the light of new legislation with AI cameras to check on seat belt wearing?

My surgery had no knowledge of the existence of these certificates when I asked about them in 2020.

This is a grey area for disabled drivers, and I do not know where to find the answer. Marilyn, M via email.

Freda Lewis-Stempel of This is Money replies: It’s so important to have up to date information and clarity in a situation like this – not only to make sure you’re obeying the law but for peace of mind.

Unfortunately, what you’ve been told by your Motability Advisor is not accurate.

Regulations under the Road Traffic Act 1988 generally oblige all drivers and passengers in the front and rear of motor vehicles to wear seat belts.

However, as you’ve said, if a medical practitioner states that it is inadvisable on medical grounds to wear a seat belt, and that practitioner gives you a signed and valid certificate to state as much, you are exempt from wearing one.

The guidance has not changed since the last detailed legislation in 2006 – something your Motability Advisor should be aware of.

Current information on the Department for Transport website states: ‘Your doctor may say you do not have to wear a seat belt for a medical reason. They’ll give you a ‘Certificate of Exemption from Compulsory Seat Belt Wearing’.

The DfT is also clear that you must keep this Certificate of Exemption in your vehicle and that you’ll need to show it to the police if you’re stopped.

You’ll also need to tell your car insurer.

The DfT further confirmed to us: ‘The law governing medical exemptions from seat belt wearing applies in accordance with current DfT guidance. 

‘A person who is exempt from wearing a seat belt on medical grounds must have a medical exemption certificate granted by a doctor’.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson also said that they are ‘not aware of any changed to seat belt legislation’.

‘Medical exemption certificates are currently valid if issued by a doctor. A Blue Badge is not acceptable for seat belt exemption as a Blue Badge covers a lot of disabilities, the majority of which would have no effect on wearing a seatbelt’.

So, it is clear that you are indeed right in thinking you need an exemption certificate today, as you have done previously, and we recommend doing this as soon as possible.

Will AI cameras change Exemption Certificate legislation?

As you said this is a bit of a grey area for disabled drivers and passengers (and legislators alike) as new technology rollout does not necessarily factor in ‘human’ circumstances and anomalies.

We asked Transport for Greater Manchester (who are overseeing the new AI camera rollout in Northern England) for clarification. 

A spokesman said: ‘The trial will be conducted in accordance with the law on wearing seat belts, while also taking account the guidance relating to medical exemptions [as stipulated by the DfT].’

Again, this means you must keep the certificate in your vehicle and show it to police when asked.

The spokesperson also said that ‘results of the [AI camera] trial will be shared with Greater Manchester Police in order to inform future targeted enforcement activity. 

Any offences detected as part of the trial can be passed to GMP for them to consider further action’.

It is likely then that any issues with wrongfully detecting drivers or passengers who have a Certificate of Exemption will be streamlined for future rollouts.

But don’t forget that even if an AI camera does detect you, and you’re notified that the police intend to prosecute, you can then explain your situation and present your certificate.

If you have a valid certificate, you aren’t breaking the law, no matter whether you’re snapped on an AI camera or not.

What qualifies you for a seat belt Exemption Certificate?

The DfT says: ‘In deciding whether to grant exemption, a medical practitioner needs to judge each case on its merits. There are no conditions (eg pregnancy) which justify automatic exemption’.

Make sure you and your doctor keep a record of exemptions issued – it will make it easier to query or challenge anything.

How to order certificates

Considering your GP is not aware of the certificates (which they really should be), then direct them to the DfT to make sure they are up to date with the latest guidance.

Your GP need to assess you or anyone who requires an Exemption Certificate thoroughly.

If your medical practitioner decides to grant exemption then the certificate should be issued immediately and must specify a period of validity.

There is no set period of validity though – it’s as long or as short as medically justified.

A specific certificate must be used, which can be obtained from [email protected].

And at no point is a doctor’s note a legal substitute for the certificate, so you won’t be exempt until you have the valid Certificate of Exemption – your GP should put it to the top of their priority list.

The history of seat belts and their introduction into law

Seat belts have been credited with saving an estimated 2,000 lives a year in Britain since they became a legal requirement in 1983.

But acceptance wasn’t always the case, and it took time to introduce mandatory seat belt wearing into law.

From as early as the 1930s people were using lap belts and then two-point belts to keep themselves safe while driving.

Then in 1959, Volvo introduced a three-point belt (the seat belt we know today) in the front seats of its Amazon and PV 544 models as standard in Sweden.

In 1967, new cars in the UK had to be fitted with three-point front seat belts – and a year later all 1965 and onwards cars had to be retrofitted with them.

This didn’t mean that seat belts were popular, though – many people and bodies were in favour of persuasion rather than compulsion.

In 1973, the RAC supported voluntary persuasion rather than enforcement, saying ‘the time for consideration of such a drastic measure has not yet been reached’ and ‘would have undesirable effects on relations between police and public’.

The Ministry of Transport was also deeply concerned with the civil liberty argument surrounding seat belts, instead preferring to rely on Jimmy Savile’s ‘clunk, click every trip’ advert exhortation rather than enforcement.

By 1987, all new cars in the UK had to have rear seat belts fitted – and most mass manufacturers were already fitting them as standard anyway.

The law that required people to wear them came into effect in 1983 (front belts), followed by a 1989 law for children in the back to wear a seat belt, and then a 1991 law update that made it a legal requirement for adults in the back to wear seat belts too.

These days law-abiding citizens wear one without hesitation, and seat belts are credited with reducing the risk of death by 50 per cent.