Under new legislation proposed by the province, protective booster seats would be required for children who have outgrown car seats but are too small to safely use seatbelts. This announcement was made by Healthy Living, Seniors and Consumer Affairs Minister Jim Rondeau and Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton.
“Many children who have outgrown child car seats are using seatbelts too early, which makes them more susceptible to serious abdominal and spinal cord injuries in the event of a crash,” said Rondeau. “Our new legislation will mandate the use of booster seats until children can be safely and properly restrained by seatbelts alone.”
The proposed legislation and regulations would:
• require the use of booster seats until children meet specific age, weight or height requirements; and
• prescribe standards of child-restraining devices required to be used (such as Canada’s motor vehicle safety standards).
Under the Highway Traffic Act, Manitoba currently requires child car seats to be used until a child reaches the age of five or a weight of 50 pounds. The new rules would require children to ride in a booster seat until they are a minimum of four feet, nine inches (145 centimetres) tall, 80 pounds (36 kilograms), or nine years old.
“We want to reduce serious injuries and fatalities,” said Ashton. “The legislation introduced today will help us protect children by increasing the use of booster seats.”
The new legislation would come into force later this year.
