KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Owners of vehicles registered before Jan 1, 1995 can opt to fit rear seat belts on their own.

Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said that while these older vehicles were exempted from the seat belt ruling, owners concerned about road safety could retrofit rear seat belts on their own time.

"We have been getting a lot of calls from people on this matter. Usually, these old car owners are retirees and the cars are used for single occupancy," said Suret Singh when contacted by The Star yesterday.

He also said that it was highly discouraged to carry a fourth passenger in the back of the car because the person was at a higher risk of being airborne in the event of a crash.

"The occurrence of carrying more than three people is only 9% of the time but do remember when an impact happens, the fourth person is at a higher risk to crush the person in front with 40 times his body weight," he said.

Suret Singh reiterated that no summons would be issued for carrying a fourth passenger under the ruling.

For further enquiries, the public can call the department's hotline at 03-8886 6302 or 03-8886 6303.