The most effective safety restraints in a traffic crash are:
- Only a lap and shoulder belt.
- Only an airbag.
- Both a lap/shoulder belt and an airbag. ✓
- No safety restraints.
Answer: C. Both a lap/shoulder belt and an airbag.
The most effective safety restraints are both a lap/shoulder belt and an airbag.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says safety belts save lives when worn correctly, and it lists what a belt keeps you from in a crash: being ejected, hitting other people or the steering wheel and windshield, and losing control of the vehicle. It tells you to wear both the lap belt and the shoulder belt. It also warns that an airbag cannot take the place of a safety belt, so the belt remains necessary and the airbag does not replace it. That points to using both together.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Only a lap and shoulder belt. — A lap and shoulder belt is required, but choosing only the belt leaves out the airbag, while the handbook's warning that airbags do not replace belts points to using both restraints.
- B. Only an airbag. — An airbag alone is wrong because the handbook says plainly that an airbag cannot substitute for a safety belt.
- D. No safety restraints. — No restraints is wrong because the handbook says you are far more likely to be killed in a crash if you are not wearing a safety belt.
Remember it
Belt first, bag second: the airbag is a partner, not a replacement.