Safe driving and emergencies
How far back from the air bag cover should you sit, and how is that distance measured?
- At least 10 inches, measured from the center of the steering wheel to your breastbone. Correct answer
- At least 18 inches, measured from the center of the steering wheel to your breastbone.
- At least 10 inches, measured from the dashboard to your knees.
Why
Ten inches, taken from the center of the steering wheel to your breastbone, and the handbook attaches a condition that matters as much as the number: only as far back as you can sit while keeping full control of the vehicle. Passengers should sit at least 10 inches from the passenger-side air bag as well. Eighteen inches is a real figure in the handbook, but it measures something else entirely, how close to the curb your vehicle should end up when you finish parallel parking. If you cannot get 10 inches and still drive properly, the handbook sends you to your vehicle dealer or manufacturer for advice rather than to a workaround of your own. One more warning from the same page: a child sitting beside a side air bag may face a risk of serious or fatal injury.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is At least 10 inches, measured from the center of the steering wheel to your breastbone.
The rule behind this one
Safe driving and emergencies in California goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on safe driving and emergencies
- You are using hand-to-hand (push/pull) steering. How should you hold the wheel?
- In which situation does the handbook call for hand-over-hand steering?
- You are turning while backing up and need to look behind you to see where you are going. How should you hold the steering wheel?
- You are on a narrow mountain road and a curve ahead keeps you from seeing at least 200 feet down the road. What does the handbook tell you to do?