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West Virginia driving lesson · Defensive Driving and Weather

Seat belts, head restraints, ABS and air bags

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
6
Source pages
77, 78

Your car's safety equipment only works if you use it correctly. Seat belts are the law for nearly everyone, and air bags and ABS each need you to do something specific.

Know the rule

Everyone in a passenger vehicle must wear a federally approved safety belt, and the driver is responsible for making sure all passengers are buckled.

Handbook p. 77 ↗

Know the rule

The only legal exception is people 18 or older riding in the back seat. A medical exception may be allowed, and the driver may need to show proof.

Handbook p. 77 ↗
45–50%

How much safety belts reduce the chance of injury or death in a collision

Handbook p. 77 ↗

Know the rule

Wear the lap belt snug over the lower hips and the shoulder belt across your shoulder. Belts keep you from being thrown out and in position on rough roads.

Handbook p. 77 ↗

Know the rule

Adjust head restraints to rest against the back of your head, not your neck, to reduce whiplash in rear-end collisions.

Handbook p. 78 ↗

Know the rule

With anti-lock brakes (ABS), keep steering while pushing hard on the brake. Don't pump ABS brakes; pumping can lose all brake force.

Handbook p. 78 ↗
About 10%

Best-case improvement ABS gives in a sudden stop; it is not "super brakes"

Handbook p. 78 ↗
1998

Year all passenger vehicles required dual air bags (light trucks: 1999)

Handbook p. 78 ↗

Know the rule

A majority of people killed by air bags weren't wearing seat belts. Always buckle up, hold the wheel from the sides (right hand at 4 o'clock, left at 8), and keep the front seats tilted slightly back, as far from the air bag as possible.

Handbook p. 78 ↗

Put it into practice

A deer jumps out and you slam on the brakes in your ABS-equipped car. Keep your foot pressed hard; you may feel pulsing, which is the ABS working. Steer around the deer if needed instead of pumping the pedal.

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 legally exempt from wearing a safety belt in a WV passenger vehicle, in general?
  1. Passengers age 18 or older riding in the back seat
  2. Drivers over age 65
  3. Anyone on a trip under 10 miles
  4. Front-seat passengers only

Answer: Passengers age 18 or older riding in the back seat

The only general legal exception is for passengers 18 or older in the back seat, aside from certain medical exceptions.

Handbook p. 77 ↗
By about how much do safety belts reduce the chance of injury or death in a crash?
  1. 45 to 50 percent
  2. 10 to 15 percent
  3. 70 to 80 percent
  4. 20 to 25 percent

Answer: 45 to 50 percent

Statistics cited show seat belts reduce injury or death risk by 45 to 50 percent.

Handbook p. 77 ↗
What is a common misconception about anti-lock brakes (ABS) that the handbook corrects?
  1. That ABS only works on wet roads
  2. That ABS should always be pumped like regular brakes
  3. That ABS stops a vehicle much faster than usual
  4. That ABS requires manual activation before each stop

Answer: That ABS stops a vehicle much faster than usual

ABS only improves stopping performance by about 10 percent at best; it is not 'super brakes.'

Handbook p. 78 ↗
What should a driver do differently when braking hard in a vehicle equipped with ABS?
  1. Pump the brake repeatedly, just like without ABS
  2. Continue to steer while pushing hard on the brake, without pumping
  3. Take their foot off the brake entirely and coast
  4. Shift into neutral before braking

Answer: Continue to steer while pushing hard on the brake, without pumping

With ABS, the driver should steer while pressing firmly on the brake; pumping ABS brakes reduces stopping ability.

Handbook p. 78 ↗
Since what year have all new passenger vehicles been required to have dual front air bags?
  1. 1990
  2. 2000
  3. 1998
  4. 1985

Answer: 1998

Beginning in 1998, all passenger vehicles were required to have dual air bags; light trucks followed in 1999.

Handbook p. 78 ↗
Pumping the brakes in a vehicle equipped with ABS can cause a loss of brake force.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

Pumping ABS brakes can actually reduce the system's ability to bring the vehicle to a quick, safe stop.

Handbook p. 78 ↗
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