How must a passenger under age 8 be secured in a vehicle?
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A.
In an appropriate child restraint system Correct
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B.
On the lap of a belted adult passenger
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C.
With an adult safety belt across the lap
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D.
Seated in the back with any adult nearby
The answer is "In an appropriate child restraint system"
The Child Passenger Protection Act requires any passenger under age 8 to ride in an appropriate child safety restraint system; a lap belt alone is allowed only when the back seat has no lap/shoulder belts and the child is over 40 pounds. Choice C tempts drivers who use a child's size, rather than age 8, as the cutoff for switching to the adult belt.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. On the lap of a belted adult passenger
Riding on a lap gives the child no restraint of their own and provides no protection in a crash; the Act requires a child safety seat. This answer carries over the pre-car-seat habit of holding a small child on an adult's lap during travel.
C. With an adult safety belt across the lap
An adult lap belt is not the required restraint for a child under 8; the Act calls for an appropriate child restraint system, and the narrow lap-belt-only allowance applies only in a back seat with no lap/shoulder belts when the child is over 40 pounds. This answer reads a child's size, rather than the age-8 cutoff, as the point when an adult belt becomes enough.
D. Seated in the back with any adult nearby
An adult nearby is not a restraint; the Act still requires the child to be secured in an appropriate child safety seat. This answer applies the recommendation to seat children 12 and younger in back too loosely, taking adult company there as enough on its own.
This question tests your knowledge of Safety Belts & Restraints in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Child Passenger Protection Act," p.23..
Related Illinois questions
- Illinois law requires safety belts to be worn by all drivers and passengers of what age? →
- Where should the lap portion of a safety belt sit on your body? →
- Where should the shoulder strap of a safety belt never be placed? →
- Illinois law requires a child to ride in a rear-facing child restraint system until what age, unless the child exceeds specific size limits? →
- A child under age 2 may be moved out of a rear-facing restraint if the child weighs more than 40 pounds or is more than how many inches tall? →
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