Children in the Front Passenger Seat

Question: Can a child under 12 years of age sit in the front passenger seat of a moving vehicle that has an active airbag?

The child legally occupying the front passenger seat is obviously not 5 foot 6 inches nor has she reached the age of 12 which are both requirements for front seat occupancy in a moving vehicle in the state of Delaware. However, as already stated she is legally occupying the front seat because at least one of the three following exemptions has been met:

1. The back seat is fully occupied by other children who have not met the two requirements stated above — 5 foot 5 inches and/or has not reached the age of 12.

2. There is no back seat in the vehicle she is occupying.

3. The passenger side airbag will not inflate because the vehicle in the picture above is equipped “…. with a passenger- side airbags specifically designed or modified by the vehicles manufacturer for use by children and small adults.”

Answer: Yes

Delaware Defensive Driving

Delaware Defensive Driving Inc. has been providing State of Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles approved Basic and Refresher (aka “Advanced”) defensive driving courses since 1992. Based in Wilmington, Delaware over 135,000 certificates of completion have been issued to Delaware drivers over the last 32 years.