The trooper was probably not thinking about an older vehicle with no air bags. If the child is big enough to ride in a forward facing seat and there is no airbag I'd be ok with it. I have my son's car seat in the front of my pickup (no air bags) because there is no where else to put him. I'f I was going to put him in my 40 I'd put in a back seat and put him in the back in the middle. When you have kid #2 you'll have to put a rear seat in anyway so you might as well do it now, besides I doubt the
will want to ride in the jump seats anyway. I would definately put my kid in a front seat of a 40 in his car seat before I would put him in the jump seat. I now have a 2 year old and 3 month old so I'll be putting a rear bench in the 40 eventually. Times have changed!!
SECTION 56-5-6410.
Child passenger restraint systems; age and weight as basis for required restraining system; standards.
Every driver of a motor vehicle (passenger car, pickup truck, van, or recreational vehicle) operated on the highways and streets of this State when transporting a child five years of age or younger upon the public streets and highways of the State must provide an appropriate child passenger restraint system and must secure the child as follows:
(1) A child from birth up to one year of age or who weighs less than twenty pounds must be properly secured in a rear-facing child safety seat which meets the standards prescribed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
(2) A child who is at least one year of age but less than six years of age and who weighs at least twenty pounds but less than forty pounds must be secured in a forward-facing child safety seat provided in the motor vehicle which meets the standards prescribed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
(3) A child who is at least one year of age but less than six years of age and who weighs at least forty pounds but not more than eighty pounds must be secured by a belt-positioning booster seat. The belt-positioning booster seat must be used with both lap and shoulder belts. A booster seat must not be used with a lap belt alone.
(4) If a child is at least one year of age but less than six years of age and weighs more than eighty pounds, the child may be restrained in an adult safety belt. If a child less than six years of age can sit with his back straight against the vehicle seat back cushion, with his knees bent over the vehicle's seat edge without slouching, the child may be seated in the regular back seat and secured by an adult safety belt.
(5) A child who is less than six years of age must not occupy a front passenger seat of a motor vehicle. This restriction does not apply if the motor vehicle does not have rear passenger seats or if all rear passenger seats are occupied by other children less than six years of age.
Any child restraint system of a type sufficient to meet the physical standards prescribed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at the time of its manufacture is sufficient to meet the requirements of this article.
I'm not talking about 40's of colt 45 here 
that was too cool not to ride in... 
