Seat belts and air bags — Pennsylvania Permit Test
Seat belts and air bags on the Pennsylvania permit test — 8 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
All drivers and front seat passengers must wear seat belts, and a passenger aged eight or older but under 18 must wear one wherever they are riding in the vehicle.
An unbelted passenger in the back becomes a moving weight that hits the person in front.
If you are transporting passengers age eight (8) or older but less than age 18, they must wear seat belts, no matter where they are riding in the vehicle.
If you are a driver under 18, the number of passengers may not be more than the number of seat belts in the vehicle.
An extra passenger with no belt is the one who does not survive.
If you are a driver under the age of 18, the number of passengers may not exceed the number of seat belts in the vehicle.
A driver or passenger who is not buckled up can be killed on impact even when the vehicle is traveling as slowly as 12 miles an hour.
The speed that seems harmless is still enough to stop your body against the dashboard.
A driver or passenger who is not buckled up, can be killed on impact even when the vehicle is traveling as slowly as 12 mph.
Your chances of being killed are almost 25 times greater if you are thrown from your vehicle.
Being thrown clear usually means going through the windshield and landing hard.
Your chances of being killed are almost 25 times greater if you are thrown from your vehicle.
To be safe if an air bag opens you should sit at least 10 inches away from the steering wheel.
The bag opens fast enough to injure somebody sitting on top of it.
To be safe, in case the air bag deploys, you should be at least 10 inches away from the steering wheel.
Air bags are supplemental protection; lap and shoulder belts should always be worn as well.
The bag is designed on the assumption that the belt is already holding you in the seat.
Air bags are supplemental protection devices. Lap and shoulder belts should always be worn.
It is recommended that all children aged 12 and under ride in the rear seat, because most collisions are frontal and children may get too close to the air bag in front.
Most crashes come from the front, so the back seat is further from the impact.
It is recommended that all children ages 12 and under ride in the rear seat.
Adjust your head restraint so the top of it is at least as high as the top of your ears; it can prevent or reduce neck injury in a crash.
Set too low it becomes the thing your neck bends over.
Adjust your head restraint so the top of the head restraint is at least as high as the top of your ears.
On the test
Who must wear a seat belt no matter where they sit?
Anyone aged 8 or older but under 18. An unbelted passenger in the back becomes a moving weight that hits the person in front. PA Driver's Manual, p.89: “If you are transporting passengers age eight (8) or older but less than age 18, they must wear seat belts, no matter where they are riding in the vehicle.”
How this works
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Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against PA Driver's Manual, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.