This chapter covers a driver's core safety responsibilities: seat belt use, child passenger safety, vehicle condition checks, carbon monoxide awareness, and basic vehicle-handling skills like steering, braking, and parking.
The most heavily tested material is the seat belt law (the driver is responsible for passengers under 18), the tiered child restraint rules based on age/height/weight, and the stopping-distance table that shows how speed increases the distance needed to stop.
A common mistake is assuming a child restraint switches to forward-facing at a fixed age rather than following the weight and height thresholds in the law, or forgetting that a driver must never place a rear-facing car seat in a front seat with an active passenger air bag.
Who is responsible for seat belt use in the car?⌄
The driver is responsible for making sure all passengers under age 18 wear seat belts. Front-seat passengers 18 and older are responsible for buckling themselves, and a driver can be stopped solely for a seat belt violation.
What's the rule for children riding in the front seat with air bags?⌄
A rear-facing child restraint should never be placed in a front seat that has an active passenger-side air bag, because the air bag could seriously injure the child. Children 12 and under are safest buckled in the back seat.
How long can I let my vehicle idle in New Jersey?⌄
New Jersey law limits vehicle idling to three minutes or less in most situations. Idling longer than that is both unnecessary and against the law.