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West Virginia driving lesson · Defensive Driving and Weather

Child passengers and personal safety

A 3-minute lesson from the West Virginia 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
Defensive Driving and Weather
Checkpoint questions
4
Source pages
77, 78, 79

West Virginia law protects young children with safety seats, and air bags change where kids can sit. The handbook also gives eight simple habits to keep you safe from crime on the road.

Know the rule

A driver carrying a child under 8 in a passenger car, van or pickup (not one operated for hire) must secure the child in a child safety seat meeting federal standards.

Handbook p. 77 ↗

Know the rule

Exception: a child under 8 who is at least 4 feet 9 inches tall may use a safety belt instead.

Handbook p. 77 ↗
4'9"

Height at which a child under 8 may use a regular safety belt

Handbook p. 77 ↗

Know the rule

Under NO circumstances put an infant in a rear-facing safety seat in the front passenger seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag.

Handbook p. 78 ↗

If a child must ride in front with an air bag:

  • Use a forward-facing child safety seat
  • Secure the child properly in the seat
  • Push the passenger seat all the way back, away from the air bag
Handbook p. 78 ↗
12 and under

Children this age should be buckled in the rear seat

Handbook p. 78 ↗

Eight simple steps to safe driving:

  • Keep doors locked and windows up, driving or parked
  • Don't pick up hitchhikers
  • Know your vehicle's controls and safety equipment
  • Turn off your wireless device or enable hands-free before driving
  • Lock valuables in the trunk or glove compartment
  • Lost? Drive to a well-lit, populated public place instead of stopping on the roadside
  • Park in well-lit areas, keys in hand; check inside and under the car before entering
  • If you think you're being followed, go to a well-lit populated area and call police (9-1-1)
Handbook p. 79 ↗

Put it into practice

You're driving your 7-year-old niece, who is 4 feet 10 inches tall. Because she's at least 4'9", a safety belt meets the law, but at 12 or under she should ride buckled in the back seat.

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 under age 8 must ride in a child safety device unless they meet what height exception?
  1. At least 4 feet tall
  2. At least 5 feet tall
  3. At least 4 feet 9 inches tall
  4. There is no height exception

Answer: At least 4 feet 9 inches tall

A child under 8 who is at least 4'9" tall may use a regular safety belt instead of a child safety seat.

Handbook p. 77 ↗
Under NO circumstances should you place what in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag?
  1. An adult front passenger wearing a seat belt
  2. A booster seat for a school-age child
  3. A properly secured forward-facing child seat
  4. An infant in a rear-facing safety seat

Answer: An infant in a rear-facing safety seat

An infant in a rear-facing seat must never be placed in a front seat with an active passenger air bag.

Handbook p. 78 ↗
Where should children age 12 and under generally be seated in a vehicle?
  1. In the front seat with the air bag on
  2. Anywhere, as long as they wear a seat belt
  3. In the front seat only if over 100 pounds
  4. In the rear seat, properly buckled

Answer: In the rear seat, properly buckled

Children 12 and under should be buckled and seated in the rear seat.

Handbook p. 78 ↗
If you become lost while driving at night, what should you do instead of pulling over on the roadside?
  1. Pull onto the shoulder to study a map
  2. Turn off your headlights to save the battery
  3. Drive to a well-lit, populated public place
  4. Flag down the next passing vehicle

Answer: Drive to a well-lit, populated public place

If lost, drive to a well-lit, populated place like a gas station rather than stopping on the roadside.

Handbook p. 79 ↗
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