4.2 Safety Belts, Child Restraints, Air Bags & In-Vehicle Distractions

Occupant protection is the single most effective crash countermeasure the Manual teaches. In 2023, nearly 11,000 people who were not wearing a safety belt were killed in U.S. crashes. Worn correctly, a belt lowers the chance of death or serious injury by about 50 percent.

The Safety Belt Law

Massachusetts law requires every person in a passenger motor vehicle, including vans and small trucks under 18,000 lb, to wear a safety belt or ride in a child passenger restraint.

The belt law is secondary: "You can only get a fine for the safety belt law when you are stopped for a traffic violation."

Who is exempt

• drivers and passengers of vehicles made before July 1966;
• drivers of taxis, liveries, tractors, buses and trucks of 18,000 lb or more, although some commercial drivers must wear belts under other rules;
• passengers of emergency vehicles and drivers of police and fire vehicles;
• a U.S. Postal Service employee driving a motor vehicle while working;
• a person who physically cannot wear a belt because of a disability that a physician certifies.

Child Passenger Restraints

Infants and small children must ride in a federally approved child restraint until they are:

1. at least eight years old, or
2. at least 57 inches tall.

Children who meet either threshold must wear a correctly used safety belt. The fine is $25.

• The restraint must carry a sticker showing it meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213 (49 C.F.R. 571.213).
• It must be permanently attached, or attached by a safety belt or an attachment system.
• Never put a rear-facing child seat in a front passenger seat that has an air bag.
• The back seat is safest, and the back middle seat is best. Infant seats must face the back of the vehicle.
• Free installation help from a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician: 1-877-392-5956 or Mass.Gov/Highwaysafety.

Always choose by the child's height and weight, and follow the manufacturer's exact limits.

How Belts Protect You

• They stop you from hitting hard surfaces. In a head-on crash the vehicle stops, but an unbelted body keeps moving until it hits the windshield, dash, wheel or another person. Hitting the windshield at 30 mph is like falling from a third-story window.
• They prevent ejection. Lap and shoulder belts make your chance of surviving a crash five times better by keeping you inside.
• They keep the driver in control, behind the wheel and able to avoid a second crash.

Correct fit: the lap belt sits low, tight and flat over the hips, not twisted. The shoulder belt crosses the shoulder and chest, never under the arm or across the face or neck.

Myths the Manual answers

Air Bag Safety

• Children belong in the back seat; infants in rear-facing seats never go in front of a passenger air bag.
• Use child seats suited to the child's age and size.
• Air bags do not replace lap and shoulder belts.
• Move the driver's and front passenger's seats as far back from the dashboard as you can while still driving comfortably.

Inside the Vehicle

Nothing inside the vehicle may interfere with your ability to see, react or drive:

• Distracting objects. Nothing on the dashboard or windshield, or hanging from the mirror, may block your view ahead or through your mirrors. Nothing may be able to roll under the pedals.
• Headphones. It is illegal to wear a radio headset, headphones or any wired or wireless device that keeps you from paying attention to your surroundings. Drivers 18 or older may use one earplug for a cell phone.
• Loud noise. Keep sound low enough to hear emergency sirens.
• Televisions. Any TV must be behind the front seat and not visible to the driver, even when the driver looks sideways.
• Truck beds. Children under 12 may not ride in a pickup truck bed. Very limited exceptions exist, and never at more than 5 mph.
• Cell phones. Covered by the hands-free law (section 4.3).