A 3-minute lesson from the Alaska course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Children need the right restraint for their age, weight and height. Alaska law sets the minimum. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends going further, keeping kids in each stage as long as the seat allows.
Know the rule
Passengers under four must be in federally approved child restraint devices. From 4 up to 16, children use a seat belt or child restraint, whichever is age appropriate.
Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs) are trained to teach correct use of car seats and boosters. Find one at cert.safekids.org ("FIND A TECH"); Alaska program contacts are at carseatsak.org.
Your 6-year-old weighs 45 pounds and is 46 inches tall. Under Alaska law she's over 4, under 8, under 57 inches and between 20 and 65 pounds, so she must ride in a booster seat secured by the seat belt.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
A child less than 1 year old, or 1 year or older but under 20 pounds, must be secured in what?
A forward-facing car seat
A booster seat
A rear-facing car seat
An adult seat belt only
Answer: A rear-facing car seat
Infants under 1 year, or under 20 pounds, must ride in a rear-facing seat.
Children 8 years old but under 16 who don't exceed certain height and weight limits may use either a child safety device or a seat belt, as determined by the driver.
True
False
Answer: True
For that age range, the driver determines whether a device or seat belt is appropriate.