• Illinois law requires seat belts for certain passengers.seat belt receptacle image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
  
  The Illinois legislature enacted the Child Passenger Protection Act, which defines the laws for children riding in a car. Creation of the law was motivated by the statistic that auto accidents are the leading cause of death in the state for children between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. Investigations revealed that child passenger restraint systems were not being used with consistency.
  
  

Children Under 8 Years Old

• Any child passenger under the age of 8 must be secured in a child restraint system. Under the law, a booster seat is considered a child restraint system as well as the car seat most people think of. Child car seats are typically designed to be buckled into the back seat. For this reason, it would be against Illinois law to have a passenger under the age of 8 in the front seat.
  
  

Children Between 8 and 19; Driver Under 18

• If a person under the age of 18 is transporting as a passenger a person between the ages of 8 and 19, the passenger must be wearing a seat belt or be secured in a child restraint system. This is regardless of where they are seated. Everyone riding in the front seat, including the driver and any passengers, must wear a seat belt.
  
  

Children Between 8 and 19; Driver Over 18

• A driver over the age of 18 who violated the terms of his graduated driver's license within 6 months of turning 18 must make sure anyone in the car under 19 years old is wearing a seat belt. Also, a driver over the age of 18 who was fined for not wearing a seat belt within 6 months of turning 18 must make sure anyone in the car under 19 years old is wearing a seat belt. Again, keep in mind that anyone riding in the front seat must wear a seat belt.