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Georgia driving lesson · Work Zones and Other Traffic Laws

Seat belts, child restraints and littering

A 3-minute lesson from the Georgia course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Work Zones and Other Traffic Laws
Checkpoint questions
5
Source pages
25

Seat belts are the most effective protection in every type of crash. Georgia has a primary belt law, so an officer can stop you just for not buckling up. Children under 8 need a proper child restraint, and littering from your vehicle is a crime.

Know the rule

Every front-seat occupant of a passenger vehicle must wear a seat belt (lap and shoulder).

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Know the rule

Every occupant under age 18 must wear a seat belt, in any seat of any passenger vehicle.

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Primary safety belt law

Officers may stop and cite belt violators without seeing any other violation.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
About 45%

Reduction in crash fatality risk when seat belts are used (GDOT)

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Correctly used seat belts help:

  • Keep you in control of the vehicle
  • Keep your head from striking the dash or windshield
  • Keep people in the vehicle from hitting each other
  • Spread crash force across the stronger parts of the body
  • Protect you from injury and keep you from being ejected
Handbook p. 25 ↗

Know the rule

A child under 8 must be properly restrained in a child passenger restraint system suited to their height and weight that meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213. This doesn't apply in a taxicab or public transit vehicle.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
Under 8

Age at which a child must ride in a child restraint system

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Know the rule

Whenever litter is thrown, deposited or dropped from a motor vehicle, the vehicle's operator has violated the Litter Control Law.

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Litter

Sand, gravel, slag, brick bats, rubbish, waste, tin cans, refuse, garbage, trash, dead animals or discarded materials of every kind.

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Know the rule

Littering is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and a 12-month jail term. A judge may also order you to pick up litter from a designated area.

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Put it into practice

Your 17-year-old friend rides in the back seat without buckling up. That's a violation, because everyone under 18 must be belted in any seat, and an officer can stop you for it alone.

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.

Which occupants of a passenger vehicle in Georgia must wear a seat belt, regardless of seating position?
  1. Only the driver
  2. Only rear-seat occupants
  3. Only front-seat occupants over 18
  4. Anyone under the age of 18

Answer: Anyone under the age of 18

All occupants of any passenger vehicle must wear a seat belt if they are under age 18, in addition to all front-seat occupants.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
What does it mean that Georgia has a 'primary' safety belt law?
  1. Officers may only enforce it after another violation is observed
  2. Officers may stop you for it alone
  3. Seat belts are optional for adults over 21
  4. It only applies to interstate highways

Answer: Officers may stop you for it alone

A primary law means officers can stop and cite a driver for a seat belt violation without observing any other violation.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
Under what age must a child be properly restrained in an approved child passenger restraint system?
  1. Under 12 years of age
  2. Under 8 years of age
  3. Under 4 years of age
  4. Under 5 years of age

Answer: Under 8 years of age

Every driver transporting a child under 8 years of age must properly restrain the child in an appropriate child passenger restraining system.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
Georgia's seat belt requirement for lap and shoulder belts applies only to the driver, not front-seat passengers.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

The law requires each occupant in the front seat to be secured by a lap and shoulder belt, not just the driver.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
A conviction under Georgia's Litter Control Law is considered a misdemeanor that can carry a fine up to $1,000 and a 12-month jail term.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

Littering convictions can carry a fine up to $1,000 and up to a 12-month jail term.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
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