Utah · Handbook chapter 2 · 3 min read

Seat and mirror adjustment, Utah safety belt and car seat laws, air bags, protecting children and the safety belt facts in the Utah Driver Handbook.

Why this chapter matters

Most crash injuries are decided before the crash, by how you sit and whether everyone is buckled. Utah's car seat rules are detailed and often tested.

Seat and mirrors

• Sit upright with about 10 inches between your chest and the wheel. The top of the wheel should be below your chin and no higher than your shoulders.
• The head restraint should touch the back of your head above your ears.
• Set the inside mirror to frame the rear window. Set the outside mirrors so you barely see the sides of your own car.

Safety belts

Everyone in the vehicle must be buckled or in a child seat. Wear the shoulder belt snug across chest and shoulder and the lap belt low on the hips, never under your arm or behind your back.

• You can be cited for each unbuckled passenger. Officers can stop you if anyone under 16 is unbuckled. The fine can be waived after a 30-minute online course.
• Being thrown from a car makes death 23 times more likely.
• About 70 percent of crashes happen under 40 mph, and three of four fatal crashes are within 25 miles of home.
• Crash force is your weight times speed: 150 pounds at 30 mph is about 4,500 pounds.
• About two of three Utah traffic deaths would not happen if belts were worn.

Car seats

Smoking in a car carrying children 15 or younger is an infraction.

Air bags

Air bags work with belts, not instead of them. They deploy at up to 200 mph and can hurt anyone too close. Keep children 12 and under in the back, never put an infant in front of a passenger air bag, and move front seats back as far as practical. Disabling an air bag is a class B misdemeanor.