Seat belts, child seats and phone laws in Illinois

By the end of this topic you can

• You can explain who must wear a seat belt in Illinois and who is responsible for passengers.
• You can describe the child restraint rules for children under 8 and under 2.
• You can wear a seat belt correctly and sit a safe distance from the air bag.
• You can explain the Illinois phone rules for drivers under 19 and for adults.
• You can list the few situations when a handheld phone may be used.

What you need to know and understand

• All drivers and passengers aged 8 and older, front and back, must wear seat belts, even with air bags.
• Children under 8 must be in an appropriate child safety restraint, including booster seats used with a lap and shoulder belt.
• Children must ride rear-facing until age 2 unless they weigh more than 40 pounds or are more than 40 inches tall.
• The driver is responsible for making sure all passengers follow the belt and child restraint laws.
• Handheld phone use, texting, video calls, streaming video and social media are illegal for all drivers.
• Drivers 19 and older may use hands-free or Bluetooth; drivers under 19 may not use any phone except to call for help in an emergency.
• Holding a phone while using speakerphone is not hands-free and is illegal.

Belting up and seating children

Wear the lap belt low across your hip bones, never across your stomach, and the shoulder belt snug across your chest and near your neck. Never put the shoulder strap behind your back or under your arm. If a passenger has a disability that stops them buckling themselves, you must secure the belt for them.

Sit about 10 to 12 inches from the steering wheel air bag. Children 12 and younger are safest in the back seat, and a rear-facing child seat must never go in front of an active air bag. If the back seat has only lap belts, a child over 40 pounds may ride there with a lap belt instead of a booster.

Phone rules by age

Adults may use a handheld phone only to report an emergency, while parked on the shoulder, or while stopped because traffic is blocked with the car in neutral or park. Even hands-free calls are a distraction, so the SOS advises pulling over to make calls. If you cause a crash through distracted driving you may face criminal penalties and jail.

• Under 19: no phone use while driving, including hands-free, except to contact police, a health care provider or emergency services in an emergency.
• 19 and older: hands-free, voice-activated or Bluetooth use is allowed; a single-sided earpiece is allowed, but headsets covering both ears are not.
• Everyone: no handheld use, texting, video conferencing, live video or social media while driving.
• Everyone: no phone use in a work zone or a posted school speed zone unless hands-free, and no phone use or photos within 500 feet of an emergency scene except in limited cases.

Other distractions

Screens that show television or video and can be seen from the driver's seat are banned while the car is moving. Set your music, navigation and mirrors before you move off, keep pets and loose items secure, and keep passengers calm, which is one reason the GDL passenger limits exist.

Common mistakes

• Using a hands-free system at 17 or 18. Drivers under 19 may not use one.
• Holding the phone on speaker. That is not hands-free and is a violation for all ages.
• Letting a seven year old ride with just a seat belt. Children under 8 need a proper child restraint.
• Wearing the shoulder belt under the arm for comfort. It can cause serious injury in a crash.

Test yourself: Seat belts, child seats and phone laws in Illinois

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Illinois Seat Belt, Child Restraint and Other Traffic Laws
• Illinois Cell Phone Law Under 19
• Illinois Permit Practice Test