New regulation on child booster seats

As of April 18, a new measure of the Code de la sécurité routière will extend the period of mandatory use of a booster seat. A child will have to use it until he or she measures 145 cm or when he or she is 9 years old.  

Adopted in 2018, this measure aims to increase the safety of children in cars by avoiding them to pass prematurely to the safety belt used alone.

Even if it meets either of the two prescribed criteria, a child should continue to use a booster seat until the seat belt is perfectly adjusted when seated directly on the seat. Indeed, the booster seat raises the child so that the belt passes in the right places, either on the shoulder (clavicle) and on the hips (pelvis). In case of an accident, the clavicle and pelvic bones are the bones that are most able to absorb the shock.

Safety first

Wearing a poorly fitting belt can have serious consequences. Every year in Quebec, children are injured in traffic accidents because they are not sitting in a booster seat and they are too small to use the seat belt properly.

In the event of non-compliance with this measure, a driver may be fined $ 80 to $ 100 and have three demerit points entered in his file.

Is your child in a safe position ?

Make sure his back is straight and supported on the back. His knees must be bent at the end of the seat, which means that the child must have legs long enough to perform this exercise. The belt must pass over his collarbone, in other words the shoulder, and not on his neck. The belt must pass over his hips, not on his belly.

When the belt is attached, it must pass in the middle of the shoulder (on the clavicle) and on the pelvis.