Seat belts and child restraints — Georgia Permit Test

Georgia law requires every front seat occupant of a passenger vehicle to wear a lap and shoulder belt, and requires every occupant under 18 to wear one wherever they are sitting.

An unbelted passenger in the back is thrown forward into whoever is in front of them.

Georgia law states that each occupant in the front seat of a passenger vehicle traveling on Georgia roads and highways must be secured by a seat safety belt (lap and shoulder). All occupants of any passenger vehicle must utilize a seat safety belt if they are under the age of 18.

Georgia has a primary safety belt law, which means an officer may stop you and write a ticket for the belt alone, without seeing any other violation.

In a state without that rule the belt ticket only comes with another one, so it rarely comes at all.

Georgia has a "primary" safety belt law, meaning that officers may stop and cite violators without observing another violation.

The Georgia Department of Transportation reports that wearing a seat belt cuts the risk of dying in a crash by about 45%.

That figure is why the belt is the one safety feature of the car you have to switch on yourself.

Georgia Department of Transportation reports that the risk of fatality in a crash is reduced by about 45% when seat belts are used.

Every driver carrying a child under eight years of age must have that child in a restraint system suited to the child’s height and weight, except in a taxicab or a public transit vehicle.

An adult belt crosses a small child at the neck and the stomach, which is worse than no belt at all.

Every driver transporting a child who is under eight years of age, except in a taxicab or public transit vehicle, must properly restrain the child in a child passenger restraining system appropriate for the child’s height and weight.

The child restraint a Georgia driver uses has to meet the federal motor vehicle safety standard for those seats, so a homemade or broken one does not count.

The seat is doing what the belt cannot, and only a seat built and tested for it can.

The restraint system must comply with the United States Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.

Up to what age must every occupant of a Georgia passenger vehicle wear a belt, front or back?

Under 18 years old. An unbelted passenger in the back is thrown forward into whoever is in front of them. Georgia Driver's Manual, p.59: “Georgia law states that each occupant in the front seat of a passenger vehicle traveling on Georgia roads and highways must be secured by a seat safety belt (lap and shoulder). All occupants of any passenger vehicle must utilize a seat safety belt if they are under the age of 18.”