It's a common situation in the late hours of the night: you get into a taxi, relieved that you will be taken home safe and sound. But what if you notice that the person behind the wheel, who is responsible for your safety, is not wearing a seat belt? This not only raises questions about personal safety, but also about the regulations surrounding the requirement to wear seat belts for taxi drivers.

According to Dutch law, wearing a seat belt is mandatory for both drivers and passengers in almost all vehicles, including taxis. This rule serves as a fundamental pillar of road safety, as wearing a seat belt significantly reduces the risk of injury in accidents. However, within these clearly defined regulations there is a specific exception for taxi drivers.

This exception was introduced for safety reasons, but aimed at a different type of safety than that in case of traffic accidents. When taxi drivers transport customers for cash payment, they may refrain from wearing seat belts. The reason behind this is the potential danger that arises if a passenger with malicious intent could use the seat belt as a weapon or means to strangle the driver. This particular one exception to the seat belt requirement demonstrates the complexity of security measures in the taxi industry, where the protection of the driver against possible attacks by passengers is weighed against the general interest of road safety.