Keeping children safe — Maine Permit Test

Keeping children safe on the Maine permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Maine's manual says all children age 12 and under belong in the back seat; the law itself requires a child under 12 who weighs under 100 pounds to ride in the rear seat, if possible.

A front-seat air bag opens with enough force to badly hurt a small child.

All children age 12 and under must be in the back seat.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.42

Never place a rear-facing child safety seat in front of an active passenger air bag.

The air bag would slam into the back of the seat, right where the baby's head is.

Never place a rear-facing child safety seat in front of an active passenger air bag.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.42

Infants under age 2 should ride in the back seat facing the rear; children two years and older ride facing front.

A baby's neck is too weak to hold its head in a crash unless the seat back takes the blow.

Infants, under age 2, should always ride in the back seat facing the rear.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.42

All drivers and front-seat passengers, especially short, pregnant or elderly ones, should sit as far back as possible from the steering wheel or dashboard.

Sitting close puts the body right where the air bag bursts outward.

All drivers or front seat passengers, especially short, pregnant, or elderly ones should sit as far back as possible from the steering wheel or dashboard.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.42

On the test

Up to what age does Maine's manual say children should ride in the back seat?

12 and under. A front-seat air bag opens with enough force to badly hurt a small child. Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.42: “All children age 12 and under must be in the back seat.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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  • Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

All Maine permit topics

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Maine Driver’s License Manual, published by the Maine Secretary of State, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-05.