Seat belts, child seats and your vehicle

1.Seat belts

In Ontario, everyone in a motor vehicle, driver and passengers alike, must wear a seatbelt that is adjusted properly and fastened securely. Each passenger needs their own restraint: a seatbelt, a child car seat or a booster seat.
The driver is answerable for every passenger under 16 years of age being properly secured in a seatbelt, child car seat or booster seat.
An unbuckled driver can be fined and gets two demerit points: on conviction, the fine is between $200 and $1,000, plus the two demerit points.
A novice driver may carry only as many passengers as there are working seatbelts. A driver who carries a passenger without a working seatbelt can lose their licence for at least 30 days.
The shoulder strap goes over the shoulder, not tucked under the arm or behind the back, and the lap belt sits low across the hips rather than over the stomach.
One seatbelt is for one person; sharing a belt can cause serious injury or death in a collision.
An airbag is no substitute for a seatbelt: buckle up every time, including in a seat that has an active airbag.

An infant under 9 kilograms rides in a rear-facing child car seat, which is secured to the vehicle with either a seatbelt or the UAS strap. The back seat is always the best place for a rear-facing child car seat.
A toddler of 9 to 18 kilograms rides in a child car seat secured to the vehicle with a seatbelt or a UAS strap, and the seat’s own tether strap has to be hooked to the vehicle’s tether anchor as well.
A booster seat is required once a child has outgrown the forward-facing car seat, for as long as the child is under the age of eight, weighs at least 18 kilograms but less than 36 kilograms, and stands less than 145 centimetres (4 feet, 9 inches) tall.
A booster seat works only with a lap-and-shoulder belt; a lap belt on its own is not enough.
A child may begin wearing a seatbelt once they can wear it properly and any one of these is true: the child turns eight years old, weighs 36 kilograms or more, or is 145 centimetres (4 feet 9 inches) tall or taller.
Child car seats must meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and buckles and straps must be fastened according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Stage	Child	What is required
Rear-facing infant seat	Less than 9 kilograms	Rear-facing child car seat attached by a seatbelt or the UAS strap
Child car seat	9 to 18 kilograms	Attached by a seatbelt or UAS strap, with the tether strap attached to the vehicle’s tether anchor
Booster seat	Under eight years old, 18 kilograms or more but less than 36 kilograms, and less than 145 centimetres tall	Must be used with a lap/shoulder belt, never with a lap belt alone

A rear-facing child car seat and an active airbag must never share a seat: an inflating airbag could seriously injure the child.
No child should sit in front of an airbag that has not been switched off, and for any child under age 13 the back seat is the safest place.
When the back seat cannot be used, a child may ride in front only if that seat has no active airbag or its airbag can be turned off.
Airbags do not replace seatbelts. Buckle up every time, even in a seat with an active airbag: the belt holds you where the airbag can do its job when a crash happens.

Raise the driver’s seat until you can see over the steering wheel and the hood, with the ground visible four metres ahead of the vehicle; a firm cushion helps if the seat does not go high enough.
Sit straight upright with your elbows slightly bent and adjust the seat so your feet reach the pedals easily. A quick test: with the seat set, your feet should rest flat on the floor under the brake pedal without any stretching.
With an adjustable headrest, set the height so that the middle of the headrest sits squarely behind the back of your head; that is the position that protects you in a collision.
Make sure the front seat leaves you room to drive properly; passengers and belongings crowding that space get in the way of safe driving.
Set the interior mirror so that its centre shows the centre of the rear window. For each outside mirror, lean toward it and adjust until the rear corner of your own car is just visible, so the views do not overlap.
Side mirrors cover only a narrow angle, so a shoulder check, actually turning your head, is the only way to be sure the blind spots are empty.
Keep a clear view: nothing in the windows that gets in the way of seeing out, and tie down loose objects with cargo nets or straps or put them in the trunk, so they cannot injure passengers in a collision or sudden stop.

Driving a vehicle that is in dangerous condition is against the law. At any time, a police officer or a Ministry of Transportation inspector may inspect the vehicle, its equipment and any trailer it is towing, and an unsafe vehicle can be ordered off the road until the problem is fixed.
A tire is due for replacement once its tread is under 1.5 millimetres deep or the tread-wear indicators are touching the road. Tires also age even when not in use, and should not be older than 10 years.
Bumps, bulges, knots, exposed cords, or cuts in the tread or sidewall deep enough to show cord all mean the tire has to go. Correct air pressure, regular inspection for wear and regular rotation make tires last.
For the best grip in winter, the recommendation is four winter or all-weather tires, all with the same tread pattern. Studded tires are legal for residents of northern Ontario.
Before you pull away, check from the driver’s seat that you can see clearly all around the vehicle, that no headlamp is dim or burned out, that no dashboard warning light stays lit once the engine is running, and that nothing is lying loose. On the move, listen for odd engine or exhaust noises and for squeaking or grinding when you brake.
In winter, carry emergency supplies: a shovel, booster cables, emergency flares or warning lights, a blanket and a chain for towing. Keep a spare jug of windshield washer fluid in the car all winter and top up the reservoir whenever it runs low.

As you walk up to the vehicle, look for ice, snow or dirt that could block the lights, hamper the steering or your view, or break loose on the road and endanger other drivers.
Before driving, make sure visibility is unobstructed around the entire vehicle and that no headlamp is burned out or dim.
Keep your windows and mirrors clean, and use your defroster and wipers to maximize your vision.
Keep spare windshield washer fluid in the car through the winter and top up the reservoir whenever it runs low.
Headlights must be on whenever fog, snow, rain or other poor light stops you from clearly seeing people or vehicles that are less than 150 metres away.