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Seatbelt and Child Safety Laws
- 1/19If you are the driver carrying passengers, you are responsible for
Drivers are responsible for making sure all passengers, especially children, are properly secured with seatbelts or child safety devices.
When you are driving, you must wear a seatbelt because
Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of serious injury or death in a collision and is also legally required in Nunavut.
If you are pregnant and wearing a seatbelt, you should adjust the lap belt in this way
The lap belt should fit snugly and sit low across the hips below the baby to provide safety and reduce the risk of harm in a collision.
If you place the shoulder strap under your arm or behind your back
Placing the shoulder strap under the arm or behind the back can cause the crash force to impact soft tissues and lead to severe internal injuries.
If you are not wearing a seatbelt and your car stops suddenly
Without a seatbelt the person keeps moving at the previous speed of the vehicle until hitting the dashboard windshield or another surface or being ejected.
If your vehicle crashes and ends up in fire or water, wearing a seatbelt helps by
Wearing a seatbelt reduces the severity of the first impact which helps you stay conscious and able to act during emergencies like fire or submersion.
To be legal and safe in Canada, a child safety seat must have approval from
A child safety seat must meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards CMVSS to be approved and offer effective protection in a crash.
Before moving a child out of a rear-facing car seat, the child must be
Children must remain in a rear-facing seat until they are at least one year old and weigh at least 9 kg or 20 pounds.
When using a rear-facing car seat, you must always place it
Rear-facing child car seats must always be installed in the back seat to provide the best protection during a collision.
If there is an active airbag in the front seat
An active airbag in the front seat can cause fatal injuries to a child in a rear-facing seat and therefore must be avoided.
Before transitioning to a forward-facing car seat, your child must be
Children must be older than one year and weigh more than 9 kg to transition to a forward-facing car seat.
When installing a forward-facing car seat, you must always use
The tether strap is required for forward-facing child seats and must be secured to reduce forward head movement during a collision.
A child booster seat is useful to
A booster seat raises the child so that the adult seatbelt fits correctly across the chest and pelvis reducing injury risk in a crash.
Before allowing your child to stop using a booster seat, they should be
It is safest for a child to continue using a booster seat until they reach a height of 145 cm or 4 feet 9 inches for proper belt fit.
A child must use a booster seat if they are
Children who weigh more than 18 kg must use a booster seat until they are at least nine years old or reach 145 cm whichever comes first.
When your child is in a booster seat, you must use
Booster seats must be used with both the lap and shoulder parts of a seatbelt to provide full protection.
To provide the safest seating location, children should remain in the back seat until
Children should remain in the back seat until they are 12 years old as it is generally safer in a crash and away from active front airbags.
When your child is using the seatbelt only, the shoulder belt should be positioned
The shoulder belt must fit over the shoulder of the child and lie flat across the chest to offer proper restraint and avoid injury.
If the vehicle seat is reclined too far while wearing a seatbelt
A reclined seat can allow the person to slide under the lap belt during a crash which can cause serious internal or spinal injuries.