Traffic Safety Merit Badge
Eight requirements. Most are explanations: impaired, distracted and fatigued driving, vehicle safety features, traffic law, road design and signs, and sharing the road. Requirement 3 is hands-on, with adult supervision and a vehicle you have access to: lights, wipers, tires, a flat tire and tire sealant, and stopping distances marked off away from traffic. Requirement 7 is an interview, a pledge or an event you organize.
The plan behind this
Requirement 3 needs an adult, a vehicle and a safe place
Requirement 3 is done with adult supervision and using a vehicle that you have access to. Five parts, all hands-on:
| part | what you do with the vehicle |
|---|---|
| 3(a) | show all driving and signaling lights are clear and working, and where their switches are |
| 3(b) | a smear-and-clear test: will the wiper blades clear the windshield, or do they need replacing |
| 3(c) | find the recommended tire pressures, check the pressures and check the tread depth |
| 3(d) | check for the tools to change a flat or use tire sealant; show you know how to do both |
| 3(e) | in a location away from traffic hazards, mark off reaction and braking distances for an emergency stop at 25, 55 and 70 mph on level dry and level wet pavement |
For 3(e), use the graphics template in the Traffic Safety pamphlet, or one your counselor approves, to set up the demonstration.
Requirement 7: ONE of three
| route | what it asks |
|---|---|
| 7(a) | interview a traffic law enforcement officer or traffic safety professional about the three traffic safety problems they are most concerned about, then discuss with your counselor ways to solve one |
| 7(b) | write a personal traffic safety pledge on three of your most concerning issues, and discuss it with your counselor |
| 7(c) | initiate and organize an activity or event to demonstrate the importance of traffic safety |
The rest is explaining
| requirement | about |
|---|---|
| 1 | distracted, impaired and fatigued drivers, and new drivers' mistakes; for your state, the legal blood alcohol concentration, the consequences of DWI or DUI, and the open-container law |
| 2 | wearing a lap and shoulder belt (demonstrated), and five other vehicle safety features |
| 4 | traffic laws, a traffic stop, a car accident, and the three documents a driver must carry |
| 5 | road design, interstate safety features, and signs, signals and pavement markings |
| 6 | night visibility, pedestrians and hikers, school buses, and blind spots |
| 8 | one career related to traffic safety, researched |
What this page is
The Traffic Safety merit badge, drawn so the supervised vehicle checks of requirement 3 stand out from the explanations around them, with requirement 7 drawn as a question. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year. The free official pamphlet is the fuller guide.
Sources for this page
- Traffic Safety Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .