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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 13, 2005
Province Urges Parents to Get Ready for Booster Seat
Law
Booster Seats Save Lives - Mandatory for Young Children September 1, 2005
TORONTO, April 18 /CNW/ - The Ontario government is reminding drivers
that booster seats will soon be mandatory for young children, Transportation
Minister Harinder Takhar announced today while launching the Annual Spring
Seatbelt Campaign.
"We know that when kids are in child seats or booster seats, the
risk of injury or death is reduced by 75 percent," said Takhar. "Unfortunately,
15 per cent of children aged five to nine are not secured at all. The
simple fact is that by making child seats, booster seats and seatbelts
second nature, we can save lives."
The Ontario government's Bill 73, An Act to Enhance the Safety of Children
and Youth on Ontario's Roads, was passed in December 2004. New regulations
expected to take effect on September 1, 2005, will:
- Require more drivers, such as grandparents and babysitters, to ensure
that children are properly secured
- Make booster seats mandatory for what many road safety experts call
"the forgotten children" - those who are too big for child
car seats, yet too small to be properly protected by seatbelts
- Assign two demerit points, and a $110 fine for failing to use booster
or child car seats, or for using them incorrectly.
"Car crashes are the number one cause of death for Canadian children,"
said Minister of Children and Youth Services, Marie Bountrogianni. "Booster
seats are the vital next step in protecting children who have outgrown
their child car seat but are still too small for a seatbelt."
To help parents ensure their child car seat or booster seat is installed
and used properly, community groups will host child car seat inspection
clinics during the Spring Seatbelt Campaign. Caregivers can log on to
the MTO website or contact their local public health unit, listed in the
blue pages of the phone book, for information on upcoming clinics in their
area.
"In conjunction with legislation, teaching parents how to use car
and booster seats correctly is a critical step in protecting our children
from serious injury," says Allyson Hewitt, executive director, Safe
Kids Canada, the national injury prevention program of The Hospital for
Sick Children. The province is moving to better protect society's most
vulnerable on
Ontario's roads.
Police will also hold seatbelt spot checks this week. During the Fall
2004 Seatbelt Campaign, the OPP checked 471,553 adult seatbelts resulting
in 8,520 charges, and also checked 5,610 child seatbelts/child car seats,
leading to 271 charges.
This year's Spring Seatbelt Campaign runs from April 16-24.
Backgrounder
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PROTECTING CHILDREN AND YOUTH ON ONTARIO'S ROADS
The Ontario Legislature passed An Act to Enhance the Safety of Children
and Youth on Ontario's Roads, Bill 73, in December 2004.
Upcoming changes to child car seat legislation
New regulations expected to take effect on September 1, 2005, will amend
the Highway Traffic Act to:
- Require more drivers, such as grandparents and babysitters, to use
child car seats or booster seats when transporting children
- Require booster seats for small children who have outgrown child
car
seats but are still too small to be fully protected by seatbelts alone
- Assign two demerit points, a $90 set fine and a $20 victim fine
surcharge for failing to use booster or child car seats, or for using
them incorrectly
When to use a rear-facing infant car seat
Newborns and small infants weighing less than 9 kg (20 lbs) should be
secured in a rear-facing car seat.
When to use a forward-facing car seat
Use a forward-facing car seat - with a tether strap to better anchor
the
seat - to secure toddlers who:
- Weigh between 9 kg and 18 kg (20-40 lb.)
- Are able to pull themselves up to a standing position
- Are about one year old
When to use a booster seat
Children are safest riding in a booster seat when they:
- Weigh between 18 kg and 36 kg (40-80 lb.)
- Are less than 145 cm (57 inches or 4 feet, 9 inches) tall
- Up to 8 years old
When to secure a child with a seatbelt
A child can be properly protected by a seatbelt alone when they:
- Have had their eighth birthday, or
- Are at least 145 cm (57 inches or 4 feet, 9 inches) tall, or
- Weigh more than 36 kg (80 lb.)
When a child can sit against the vehicle seat - back with legs bent
comfortably over the edge of the seat, and the shoulder belt lies flat
across
shoulder and chest, the child is the proper size to be fully protected
by an
adult seatbelt.
Children under 13 years of age are safest in the rear seat of a vehicle,
away from active airbags. Drivers are responsible for ensuring passengers
under 16 years of age are properly secured.
Exemptions
Vehicles such as taxis, Public Vehicles, buses, emergency vehicles,
vehicles on short-term lease, and vehicles from other jurisdictions will
be
exempt from the new child car seat regulations.
Child car seat inspection clinics
To help parents ensure their child car seat is installed and used properly,
parents can attend one of many child car seat inspection clinics being
held across the province during the Spring Seatbelt Campaign. Caregivers
can log on to the MTO website or call their local public health unit,
listed in the blue pages of the phone book, for details on upcoming clinics
in their area.
In the United States, 29 states plus Washington, D.C., require booster
seats. Quebec is the only other Canadian jurisdiction with a booster seat
law.
The province is moving to better protect society's most vulnerable on
Ontario's roads. Safer roads help build strong communities.
Disponible en français
www.mto.gov.on.ca
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For further information: Contacts: Danna O'Brien, Minister's Office,
(416) 327-1815; Bob Nichols, Communications Branch, (416) 327-1158 |
