I was on vacation with my family last week, and there’s nothing quite like a drive across our fair state to spur interest in motor vehicle laws. Here are a few of the questions that my clan raised along the way. On Interstate 40 1. When will our six-year-old be able to ride without a booster seat? When she is 8 years old or weighs 80 pounds, whichever comes first. G.S. 20-137.1(a1). 2. Our 11-year-old insists that he can ride in the front passenger seat (and that “all [his] friends do”). Is this lawful? Yes, this is lawful, though the rear seat is the safest place for children of any age to ride. See http://www.buckleupnc.org/using_airbags.cfm. If a vehicle has an active passenger-side front air bag and a rear seat, a child less than five years old and weighing less than 40 pounds must be secured in a rear seat, unless the child restraint system is designed for used with air bags. See G.S. 20-137.1(a1). 3. Can my license really be revoked for driving more than 75 miles per hour? It depends which stretch of I-40 you’re driving on. DMV is authorized to suspend a person’s license if the person is convicted of speeding more than 75 miles per hour on a highway where the maximum speed is less than 70 miles per hour. See G.S. 20-16(a)(10). There are stretches of I-40 where the speed limit is 70 mph. On Highway 24 (a two-lane road with a turn lane in the middle) 4. Do I have [...]
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