Car seats can help minimize the impact of a vehicle collision to a child. Learn more about selecting, installing and using your car seat properly.
Infants and children need car seats and booster seats to keep them safe. In a crash, these seats help spread the force of any impact across the strongest parts of their body.
Child car seats are required by law in Ontario. Child passenger safety enforcement falls under the Highway Traffic Act, REGULATION 613: SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES (external link).
The National Safety Mark shows that a vehicle or a child car seat meets the necessary standards.
Buying a second-hand car seat is not recommended. There are many unknown factors that can impact a child's safety, such as the car seat expiry date or whether the second-hand car seat has previously been involved in a collision.
Second-hand car seat safety (Transport Canada) (external link)
The Transport Canada's car seat safety website (external link) has a page dedicated to child car seat safety. This page shares information about:
Child Car Seat Safety (shared by Parachute Canada) (external link)
The information on this website is meant to guide you to authoritative instruction and regulation about the choice and safe use of child car seats. The Region of Halton encourages you to go to the sources listed to learn about car seat safety. The Region of Halton does not take responsibility for your use of the information on this webpage. For safest results, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for proper installation and use of car seat and booster seat products.