Q. Dear Mr. Honk: Is a child who is still required to use a booster seat allowed to sit in the front seat of a two-door pickup truck? What about when the child no longer needs the booster? Many times this is the only vehicle available to transport a child.

— Linda Scott, Placentia

A. Those younger than 8 usually must sit in a back seat: Under state law, they must be properly restrained in a car seat or a booster, unless they are 4-foot-9 or taller and the conventional lap-and-shoulder belt fits better.

At 8, a child can hop up front – if 4-foot-9 or taller and the conventional seat belt properly fits, said Mitch Smith, an officer and spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

But …

“Each time you ‘graduate’ your child to the next seat, there’s a reduction in the level of protection,” the California Highway Patrol’s website rightly preaches. “Keep your child in each stage for as long as possible.”

Always consider the child’s size, the seat’s recommendations and what system best fits the child, which, ultimately, is the law.

The CHP says seat belts are designed for 165-pound people, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration strongly encourages that all boys and girls stay in the back until they are 13. In general, it is safer there.

There are times, though, boys and girls younger than 8 can hop up front under state law. (With a rear-facing child seat, required until age 2 unless the boy or girl is 40 or more pounds or at least 40 inches tall, the airbag must be turned off for that spot.) Among the exceptions:

— When a vehicle does not have rear seats.

— The rear seats face the rear.

— The child’s seat can’t be properly secured in the back, such as when there are only lap belts, while up front there are those and shoulder belts — both required for booster seats.

The CHP offers good advice and lays out the law in more detail on its website: Google “CHP child seat laws” to get there.

Further, a CHP officer will watch you secure your child’s seat in your vehicle and then the child into it to ensure you are doing it best; call a local office for an appointment.

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To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk