Tema 34: seat belts, airbags and child restraints in the DGT exam

Four devices that protect you once the crash happens: belt, child seat, airbag and headrest. Each has a condition the exam asks about.

Reviewed on 11 October 2026 · sources: BOE and DGT

The exam asks who wears a seat belt, how children travel and when the airbag matters.

The driver and the occupants of any seat fasten the seat belt, on urban and interurban roads.
Children up to 135 cm tall use an approved child restraint system (SRI). They sit in the back by default; in front only if there are no rear seats, the rear seats are taken by other children, or not all SRIs fit.
A rear-facing SRI goes in front only if that seat's front airbag is deactivated.
The headrest restrains the head in a rear-end impact and reduces whiplash.

Watch out: the front-seat exception exempts no child from the SRI.

In DrivingLingo: study the road signs, review loads and carrying passengers and crashes and the PAS routine, then practise with the .

Source: RGC art. 117.1 and 117.3; RGC art. 119.1; RGV art. 11.14

Key rules of topic 34

Seat belt: who and where

The driver and the occupants of any seat fasten the seat belt, on urban and interurban roads.

It is not required if the seat has no belt; improvised restraints do not count.
The driver, only when marcha atrás (reversing) or parking, in a private car park too.
With a medical exemption certificate, you show it to the officer; one from another EU state is valid with an official translation.

Source: RGC art. 117.1; RGC art. 119.1

Seat-belt exemptions

Emergency-service vehicles are exempt from the belt only in poblados (built-up areas), never on an autopista (motorway), autovía (dual carriageway) or vía convencional (conventional road).

In an assistance ambulance on an emergency call, whoever attends the patient in the patient compartment is exempt on any road.
The taxi driver, the delivery driver and the learner's companion wear the belt like everyone else.

Source: RGC art. 119.2

Children: restraint and seat

Children up to 135 cm tall use an approved child restraint system (SRI).

They sit in the back by default; in front only if there are no rear seats, the rear seats are taken by other children, or not all SRIs fit.
In all those cases the front SRI must be approved and suited to size and weight.

Source: RGC art. 117.1 y 117.3

Child seat: fitting and exceptions

You fit the SRI to the manufacturer's instructions, which say in which vehicles it is safe.

More than 9 seats: an SRI if available; if not, the belt suited to size and weight.
Taxi in urban traffic or big-city areas: children under 135 cm without an SRI, if seated in the back.
More than 9 seats: the driver, guide or person in charge informs, by audio-visual means or signs.

Source: RGC art. 117.2 y 117.4; RGC art. 119.2, párrafo 3.º

Airbag

A rear-facing SRI goes in front only if that seat's front airbag is deactivated.

It need only be deactivated, manually or automatically; for a forward-facing SRI it is not required.
It is passive safety, like the belt: it acts after the crash and together with the belt, not instead of it.

Source: RGC art. 117.3; RGC art. 117.1

Headrest

The headrest restrains the head in a rear-end impact and reduces whiplash.

If the vehicle has them, they must meet the technical rules; rear ones too.
Set below the neck it acts as a lever; lowering it for comfort removes protection in any seat.
Passive safety, like belt, SRI and airbag: it does not prevent the crash. It governs only those the vehicle has.

Source: RGV art. 11.14

Learn the rule, then practise it

Study topic 34 step by step: the rule, its citation and exam-style questions.

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