Can You Travel In The Back Of A Motorhome?

It’s a perfectly logical question to ask when you are a motorhome owner or are considering buying one. It’s something Wandahome customers often ask us. They want to know not only whether people can be in the back of their vehicle while it is moving, but also how many people can legally travel.

How Is The Legal Number Worked Out?

It’s understandable that you would assume the number of people who can travel to be the same as the number of berths in it – for instance, that six people can travel in a six berth motorhome. However, it is not that straightforward. 

UK law means that the number of berths in each particular motorhome is not necessarily the number of people that can be carried when the vehicle is moving. 

The Legalities Of Motorhome Seatbelts

From 20^th October 2007, it became law that new motorhomes have seatbelts fitted on all seats except those which are intended for use when the vehicle is parked. It’s recommended that each passenger must be secured – in another word: seatbelts. 

However, surprisingly, no legislation exists that manufacturers must include the same number of seatbelts as there are berths, nor has any been passed which explicitly forbids the use of seats without seatbelts when travelling – either in newer motorhomes with designated travel seats or in older motorhomes which have no belted seats fitted in the living area behind the driver’s section.

Section 40a of the Road Traffic Act of 1988 states that a person is guilty of an offence if they use a vehicle on the road when the number of passengers carried or how they are carried is such that the use of the vehicle involves danger of injury to any person. This means that travelling in a motorhome without a seatbelt where there is not one available to you is not specifically against the law – and so is, therefore, open to a degree of interpretation. In general, though, it’s likely that the authorities would deem your seating and seatbelt arrangements to be inadequate if you were stopped – you may even face prosecution.

There are certain things in the law which are explicit, though:

1. Seatbelts must be worn, where they are provided.
2. Motorhomes registered on or after 20 October 2007 must have seat belts for designated travel seats.
3. Children aged three years or under must be in a child car seat and this must be secured with a seatbelt. If there is no seat belt, it’s not legal for them to travel.
4. Children who are aged three or over can travel in a rear passenger seat without a car seat and without a seatbelt (if the vehicle does not have one). This seems to be a little bit of a grey area and is absolutely not a good idea.
5. After the age of 12, children must use adult seat belts.
6. Only carry the number of passengers which the motorhome was designed to carry as if you take more you risk exceeding the motorhome’s MTPLM (i.e. its gross weight). This is an offence.

In short, then: Yes, you can travel in the back of a motorhome – but you should comply with, firstly, good sense, and, secondly, the law. Only carry the same number of passengers as there are seatbelts. You can find even more information on the whole scenario on the government’s website, which will explain the law in more detail. Remember, here at Wandahome we stock many vehicles including Adria, Swift and Bailey motorhomes. We recommend that when you buy, you carefully consider your requirements in terms of the number of people travelling – and therefore how many berths and how many seatbelts there you’re going to need. Happy travelling!