Child Transportation Safety (Detailed Version)
- ALI NAEIMI
- Jul 15, 2024
- 8 min read
Car seat safety is crucial for protecting children from the dangers of car accidents, which are a leading cause of death and injury in Canada. Using car seats, booster seats, and seat belts based on the child’s age, height, and weight can significantly reduce the risk of injury. Parents must ensure the correct car seat is chosen, appropriately installed, and used consistently. This includes understanding the dangers of airbags for young children, the importance of proper clothing, and following regulations for various modes of transportation like school buses, airplanes, and taxis. This guide provides essential information on car seat safety, including the types of car seats, legal requirements, and tips for keeping children safe while travelling.
Cars:
Car crashes are a leading cause of death and injury for children in Canada. Children who use car seats are well-protected and less likely to be severely injured.
Choose the right car seat or booster seat for your child and ensure that it is used properly for each ride.
Knowing your child’s height and weight before purchasing a new car seat is essential as height and weight, more than age, determine what kind of seat will best protect your child.
Before installing a new car seat, read both the car seat and vehicle manual carefully.
Airbags:
Airbags are designed to protect adults and older children but can seriously hurt a young child or infant.
Products that don’t come with a new car seat should not be used. These include bunting bags, seatbelt adjusters, attachable plastic trays or mirrors, harness strap covers, and head support pads. These products were not crash-tested with car seats and could contribute to collision or sudden stop injury.
It is strongly recommended that children under 13 always ride in the back seat of a vehicle. All passengers are safest in the back seat. However, since that’s not always possible, experts agree that younger passengers should sit in the back because they are less physically developed and more at risk of severe injury.
When parents must transport several children and all the back seats are being used, the oldest child may sit in the front seat.
No matter where your child sits, they must be in a car seat that is right for their height, weight and age. The car seat must be attached correctly to the vehicle seat.
Rear-facing car seats should never be put in the front seat of a vehicle because this is too dangerous for an infant.
If your under-13 child is sitting in the front seat, the front passenger airbags must be turned off. Airbags are designed to protect larger passengers but can seriously hurt a child.
Car seat experts advise against dressing children in bulky snowsuits when they are in car seats. Once your child is in the seat and the straps are secure, you can place a blanket over them. Even if car seat straps are secured over a bulky jacket, in a collision, the force and impact can cause the jacket to decompress and the straps to become loose. Bulky sports equipment, such as shoulder pads and hockey pants, can also interfere with proper car seat fit. Dress children in a base layer to travel to the venue, then put their remaining gear on in the car or dressing room when you arrive.
Two factors can influence your child's choice of the right car seat.
It fits your child’s height, weight and age. Choose the car seat based on your child’s height and weight, as well as the minimum age suggested for their specific type of car seat.
The seat can be correctly installed in the vehicle being used. Not all car seats fit all vehicle seats well, so sometimes parents need to try more than one model.
National Safety Mark sticker
Look for the National Safety Mark: it proves the car seat meets Canadian safety standards.
Infant and rear-facing seat
Use from birth to seat height or weight limit.
Canadian law requires that newborns and infants use a rear-facing car seat.
Infants must use rear-facing car seats until they are at least one year of age and weigh at least 10 kg (22 lbs).
Keep your child rear-facing for as long as they still fit in the larger, rear-facing seat. Your child is safest riding rear-facing until two, three or even four years old, as long as they still fit within the height and weight limits for the seat.
Forward-facing seat
Use after the child grows out of a rear-facing seat and weighs at least 10 kg (22 lbs).
Use a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness until the child's height or weight exceeds the restrictions for the model they are using, which may be at 4, 5, or even 6 years old.
Then, purchase another forward-facing seat designed for larger children or move to a booster seat.
Booster seat
Use after the child grows out of the forward-facing seat and weighs at least 18 kg (40 lbs).
The booster seat raises the child up in the vehicle seat so that the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belts are positioned correctly. To safely use a booster seat, your child must be able to sit up straight and tall without moving out of position or unbuckling.
The lap belt must rest low across the hips, and the shoulder belt must rest in the middle shoulder region – not touching the neck. Booster seats must be used with both the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belts.
High-back booster seats are the right choice if a vehicle’s back seat does not have adjustable headrests. Parents can select either a high-back or no-back booster seat if the vehicle's back seat has adjustable headrests.
Seatbelt alone
Use when a child is taller than 145 cm (4 ft. 9 in.).
Seatbelts are designed for adult bodies. For this reason, parents must check where the lap and shoulder belts rest on their older child’s body.
Do these steps test to see if your child is ready to move from a booster seat to a seat belt:
The child can sit back against the back of the vehicle seat.
The knees bend comfortably over the edge of the vehicle seat without slouching.
The lap belt fits low, snug across the hips, and doesn’t ride up on the stomach.
The shoulder belt goes across the chest bone and the middle of the shoulder, not touching the neck and never behind the back.
If the lap and shoulder belts do not fit correctly, the child must temporarily return to using a booster seat.
A child may pass all five steps (above) to use a seat belt in one car but still need to use a booster seat in another vehicle.
Riding on a School bus
Many school buses do not have seatbelts. However, they are designed to protect children by using “passive protection”. High seat backs create a cushioned compartment to contain passengers if the bus stops suddenly or is involved in a collision, particularly in a front- or rear-end crash. The high seat back absorbs the impact of a child thrown forward or backward.
Transport Canada recognizes that seatbelts can offer an additional layer of safety on school buses when used and installed correctly. Many safety factors must be considered, such as ensuring all seatbelts are adjusted properly, children are wearing their seatbelts correctly at all times, and procedures are in place to unfasten all seatbelts if an emergency exit is needed.
Transport Canada recommends that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers on school buses be properly restrained in the right car seat for their height and weight. The school bus must have lower anchorage systems and tether straps for those car seats that require them.
Riding in an airplane
There are no Canadian laws that require the use of car seats on airplanes. However, Transport Canada recommends that young children ride in a car seat when travelling this way.
Some airlines allow children under two to ride for free on the airplane. In these cases, the child must ride on the parent’s lap.
If you wish to use a car seat for your child on a flight, you can call the airline and ask if the model you have will fit the airplane’s seat and if the airline has rules about using children’s car seats.
Airplane seats do not have tether anchors, so according to the car seat manual, the tether strap of a forward-facing car seat must be stored properly so it cannot hit anyone inside the airplane during turbulence.
Booster seats cannot be used on airplanes because they require a lap and shoulder belt, which airplane seats do not have.
Riding in a taxi
Currently, in Canada, taxi companies are not required to supply car seats for child passengers, and very few companies offer them.
In many provinces and territories, it is not against the law for children to ride in a taxi without a car seat, just like other forms of public transportation. This can pose a problem for parents who wish to protect their child while travelling this way.
Car seats are required for children in taxis in Saskatchewan, Quebec, Newfoundland, and Labrador. Be aware of the laws in your province or territory.
Although it may not be required by law, it is always recommended that you use an appropriate car seat when you travel by taxi.
Riding in a motor home
The only safe place for your child travelling in a motor home is in the front, forward-facing passenger seat, next to the driver, assuming that it has the anchor for the tether strap. If this seat has active air bags, they must be turned off. Air bags are designed to protect larger passengers but can seriously hurt a child.
Passenger seats located behind the driver are usually not secured to the motor home in the same manner as the driver’s and front passenger’s seats. In the event of a collision, these seats can become dislodged more easily. In addition, many motor homes have side-facing seats. Children’s car seats are designed specifically to protect children either rear-facing or forward-facing and cannot be placed in seats that face sideways.
If there are not enough forward-facing seats to accommodate the number of children properly, they cannot ride in a motor home. Experts agree that it is better to follow behind a motor home in a vehicle with the children in their appropriate car seats, in the vehicle's back seat. Contact Transport Canada for more information.
However, if you decide to use a used car seats, here are essential factors to consider.
National Safety Mark sticker
Does the car seat still have the original manual or booklet?
Is it clear what height and weight the car seat is designed for?
Does the car seat have an expiry date embossed on the plastic and a round National Safety Mark sticker?
Has the car seat been recalled? Check on the Transport Canada website for recalls.
Has the car seat ever been in a crash? If so, it should not be used again, even if it looks undamaged.
Check the expiry date. All car seats and booster seats sold in Canada have an expiry date. Do not use car seats or booster seats past their expiration date. Instead, dispose of seats with expired dates. To discard a car seat that is no longer safe, cut the harness straps and tear the fabric. This damage will ensure the seat is not taken from the garbage and reused.
Find the rules of a car seat or booster in your province.
*This table is for information purposes only. Please consult local authorities for further interpretation and update us on the status.
