The safety regulations apply to any window treatment which has a loop of cord which could potentially be a choking/hanging hazzard to small children.
I don't think it applies when there are two free ends hanging down, which is what we have on the big lounge curtains. Pull one string and the curtains open, pull the other and they close. The system is 40+ years old, originally designed so that it looks like rings going over a pole, but they are not full rings and the actual curtains hang from sliders in a slot at the bottom of the pole. The brass plating became very discoloured after a few years but the mechanism is still good so it's all covered with pelmets.
You can get motorised curtain rails which operate from either a wall switch or a remote control - but they are not cheap.