**Seatbelt amendment and safety alert update**
On 19 October 2018 the Transport Agency issued a VIRM amendment regarding three-point seatbelts imported and distributed by BVL (Business Ventures Limited) and manufactured by Changzhou BWD, China. The Transport Agency has also investigated seatbelts manufactured by Jiang Su Jiu Jiu Traffic Facilities Co. Ltd. (and also imported and distributed by BVL), and found them to be non-compliant. The Jiang Su Jiu Jiu Traffic Facilities Co. Ltd. seatbelts supplied by BVL to the NZ market do not correspond to the genuine certified product. BVL seatbelts are mostly used for retrofitting into modified vehicles such as buses, vans and motorhomes. They are also commonly used to replace original vehicle seatbelts if they’ve been damaged and fail a vehicle inspection. BVL seatbelts are not installed by major automotive companies when vehicles are newly manufactured. Today, the NZ Transport Agency has issued an update to the recently amended seatbelt and seatbelt anchorages sections of the in-service and entry VIRMs to include these seatbelts. Vehicles with three-point seatbelts imported and distributed by BVL (Business Ventures Limited) and manufactured by Changzhou BWD, China or Jiang Su Jiu Jiu Traffic Facilities Co. Ltd should be failed for WoF and CoF, and entry certification should not be completed. The change is effective immediately and is live in the VIRMs now. Click on the links below to view the changes.
The Transport Agency has also issued a safety alert and question and answer document that vehicle inspectors can share with vehicle owners (www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/vehicle-safety-alerts/bvl-retrofitted-seatbelts) |