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Pennsylvania driving lesson · Occupant Safety and Other Laws

Seat belts and air bags

A 4-minute lesson from the Pennsylvania 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
4 minutes
Course unit
Occupant Safety and Other Laws
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
35, 93, 95

Wearing your seat belt is the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your risk of death or injury. In a crash the car stops but your body keeps going at the same speed. Only a belt, backed by an air bag, can slow you safely.

Pennsylvania seat belt law (Section 4581)

  • All drivers and front seat passengers in cars, light trucks and motor homes must wear seat belts
  • Passengers age 8 to under 18 must wear seat belts wherever they ride
  • A driver under 18 may not carry more passengers than there are seat belts
Handbook p. 93 ↗

Know the rule

You can't brace yourself with your arms: bodies hit the interior with several tons of force. At 30 mph it's like hitting the ground from the top of a three-story building.

Handbook p. 93 ↗
12 mph

An unbuckled driver or passenger can be killed on impact at speeds this low

Handbook p. 93 ↗
1/50th of a second

Time you have to stop your body after the vehicle crashes; arms and legs can't react that fast, seat belts can

Handbook p. 93 ↗

Know the rule

Seat belts spread crash forces over the stronger chest, hips and shoulders. Air bags add even more ride-down benefit, but you must still wear a seat belt with an air bag.

Handbook p. 93 ↗
Almost 25 times

How much greater your chance of being killed is if you're thrown from the vehicle

Handbook p. 93 ↗
150 feet

How far crash forces can fling you (about 15 vehicle lengths); 4 of every 5 people killed that way would have lived if kept inside

Handbook p. 93 ↗

Know the rule

In 2017, 80.2% of people in PA crashes were wearing seat belts. Drivers 16 to 24 had the lowest seat belt use and the most unbuckled injuries and deaths.

Handbook p. 35 ↗

Air bag safety

  • Air bags are supplemental: always wear lap and shoulder belts
  • Belt snug across your hips; shoulder strap across your chest, away from your neck
  • Move seats back as far as practical, especially if you're short, while still reaching the controls
  • Sit at least 10 inches from the steering wheel
  • Hold the wheel at 9 and 3 or 8 and 4, thumbs on the outside rim
  • Never put an infant in a rear-facing seat in front of a passenger air bag
Handbook p. 95 ↗

Know the rule

Children 12 and under should ride in the rear seat: most collisions are frontal, so the back seat is farther from impact, and children fidget and may get too close to the air bag.

Handbook p. 95 ↗

Put it into practice

Your 15-year-old cousin rides in the back seat and says belts are only for the front. Wrong: passengers from 8 to under 18 must be buckled wherever they sit, and as the driver you're responsible for making sure they are.

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.

Who is required by law to wear a seat belt in the front seat of a vehicle?
  1. All drivers and front seat passengers
  2. Only the driver
  3. Only passengers under 18
  4. Only drivers under 18

Answer: All drivers and front seat passengers

PA law requires all drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts.

Handbook p. 93 ↗
Passengers ages 8 and older but under 18 must wear seat belts:
  1. Only in the front seat
  2. Wherever they ride in the vehicle
  3. Only on highways
  4. Only if they are under 16

Answer: Wherever they ride in the vehicle

Passengers 8 to 17 must be belted regardless of seating position.

Handbook p. 93 ↗
At what speed can an unbelted occupant be killed on impact, according to the handbook?
  1. Only above 55 mph
  2. Only above 35 mph
  3. As slow as 12 mph
  4. Only above 25 mph

Answer: As slow as 12 mph

The handbook notes fatal impacts can occur at speeds as low as 12 mph without a seat belt.

Handbook p. 93 ↗
How much greater are your chances of being killed if thrown from a vehicle in a crash?
  1. About 2 times greater
  2. About 5 times greater
  3. About 10 times greater
  4. Almost 25 times

Answer: Almost 25 times

Being thrown from a vehicle makes death almost 25 times more likely.

Handbook p. 93 ↗
How far away from the steering wheel should you sit to be safe if the air bag deploys?
  1. At least 10 inches
  2. At least 2 inches
  3. At least 20 inches
  4. Distance doesn't matter with a seat belt on

Answer: At least 10 inches

You should sit at least 10 inches from the steering wheel/air bag compartment for safety.

Handbook p. 95 ↗
Where is it recommended that children age 12 and under ride?
  1. In the front seat, if belted
  2. In the rear seat
  3. Anywhere, as long as belted
  4. In the front seat only if over 100 pounds

Answer: In the rear seat

Children 12 and under should ride in the back seat, away from front air bags.

Handbook p. 95 ↗
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