Status: Completed
Ministry responsible: Transportation
Completed: 2019
Overview
We’re working to update Alberta’s child safety seat laws to align with health research, best practices and other jurisdictions to ensure children are safely secured at all stages of development.
Child safety seats are designed to keep children safely restrained in vehicles until they can fit into a seatbelt:
- rear- and forward-facing car seats to help protect infants and smaller children
- booster seats to help protect older children
When used correctly, child safety seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% and the risk of serious injury by 67%.
In Alberta, children under 6 who weigh less than 18 kg (40lbs) must use a child safety seat. The law does not specify which type of child safety seat must be used, only that it must be installed properly and the child properly secured.
Weight and age is no longer considered the best practice for determining if a child requires a safety seat. Height and age are now considered the best unit of measure.
Public engagement
Albertans provided their opinions through an online survey to help us:
- determine potential options for refining or expanding current safety seat laws
- understand how these potential changes could affect Alberta families
- ensure the rules and best practices are clear for parents and focused on child safety
The survey closed on Friday, April 6, 2018.
Outcomes
Your feedback will help inform potential changes to Alberta's child car seat safety regulations.