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Utah driving lesson · Basic Driving Skills

Child seats and air bags

A 3-minute lesson from the Utah 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
Basic Driving Skills
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
37, 38

Children need the right seat for their age and size, and they are safest in the back seat. Air bags save lives but inflate with enough force to hurt anyone sitting too close, especially young children.

Child restraint stages

Child restraint stages
StageUse until
Rear-facing, back seatAt least age 2 and 30 lbs, or longer if seat allows
Forward-facing with harness, back seatAt least age 4 and 40 lbs, or longer if seat allows
Booster seat (from about age 4 and 40 lbs)Belt fits correctly and child is 57 inches tall
Ages 8 to 12Child restraint device or safety belt
Handbook p. 37 ↗

Know the rule

All children eight and under must be secured in an approved child safety seat unless they are 57 inches tall.

Handbook p. 37 ↗

Know the rule

Children 12 and younger should keep riding in the back seat.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

Car seats must be crash-tested to be approved. Check the label to be sure the seat meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
About 500

Utah children under five injured each year in crashes (as many as 10 are killed)

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Exempt from the safety belt usage act:

  • Authorized emergency vehicles
  • Mopeds and motorcycles
  • School buses
  • Vehicles not equipped with safety belts by the manufacturer
Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

It is an infraction to be stopped for smoking in a vehicle while transporting children 15 years of age or younger.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
200 mph

Speed at which an air bag can come out of the dashboard

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Preventing air bag injuries:

  • Children 12 and under ride buckled in a rear seat, in a seat approved for their age and size
  • Infants never ride in front of a passenger-side air bag
  • Everyone wears both lap and shoulder belts on every trip
  • Driver and front passenger sit as far back as practical
  • If a child must sit by an air bag, move the seat all the way back; some cars can turn the air bag off
Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

Air bags work with safety belts; they do not replace them.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Know the rule

Removing, failing to repair, or modifying your air bag system so it won't work is a Class B misdemeanor.

Handbook p. 38 ↗

Put it into practice

Your 5-year-old weighs 45 pounds and is 44 inches tall. She has outgrown her harness seat, so she rides in a booster seat in the back until the belt fits correctly and she reaches 57 inches.

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.

Until what age and weight must a child ride rear-facing in the back seat, if the car seat allows?
  1. At least age 2 and 30 pounds
  2. At least age 4 and 40 pounds
  3. At least age 1 and 20 pounds
  4. At least age 3 and 35 pounds

Answer: At least age 2 and 30 pounds

Children must be rear-facing in the back seat until at least two years of age and 30 pounds, or longer if the seat allows.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
A child must ride forward-facing with a harness in the back seat until at least what age and weight?
  1. 2 years old and 30 pounds
  2. 4 years old and 40 pounds
  3. 6 years old and 50 pounds
  4. 8 years old and 60 pounds

Answer: 4 years old and 40 pounds

Children must be forward-facing with a harness in the back seat until at least four years old and 40 pounds.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
Children ages eight and under must be in an approved child safety seat unless they are how tall?
  1. 48 inches
  2. 60 inches
  3. 57 inches
  4. 50 inches

Answer: 57 inches

Children eight and under must be secured in a child safety seat unless they are 57 inches tall.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
At what speed can an air bag deploy from the dashboard?
  1. Up to 60 mph
  2. Up to 100 mph
  3. Up to 300 mph
  4. Up to 200 mph

Answer: Up to 200 mph

An air bag comes out of the dashboard at up to 200 mph, faster than the blink of an eye.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
From about what age and weight can a child move to a booster seat, until the belt fits correctly and they are 57 inches tall?
  1. About age two and 20 pounds
  2. About age eight and 60 pounds
  3. About age four and 40 pounds
  4. About age six and 50 pounds

Answer: About age four and 40 pounds

Children from about age four and 40 pounds need to be in a booster seat until the belt fits and they are 57 inches tall.

Handbook p. 37 ↗
It is an infraction to smoke in a vehicle while transporting children of what age or younger?
  1. 15
  2. 12
  3. 8
  4. 18

Answer: 15

It is an infraction to be stopped for smoking in a vehicle while transporting children 15 years of age or younger.

Handbook p. 38 ↗
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