Issue
Child passenger safety
Motor vehicle injuries are a leading cause of injury-related death for Canadian children. Action must be taken to reduce the risk of crashes. Steps must also be taken to reduce the risk of injury when a crash occurs.
Problem
Low booster seat use
Car crashes kill more children than any other cause of injury in Canada. What amounts to over two classrooms of children die in cars each year, and thousands more are injured.
Solution
Mandatory booster seat use
When installed correctly, putting a child in a car seat reduces the chances of injury or death by as much as 75 per cent and booster seats provide up to 60 per cent more protection than seat belts alone. Children must be in the correct car seat for their stage of physical development in order to be protected.
While at least 75 per cent of young children are restrained in car seats, according to Transport Canada research shows that nearly three-quarters of Canadian children between ages four to nine are not protected by booster seats.
Car seats can reduce the risk of death by 71 per cent for infants under age one and 54 per cent for children by ages one to four.
Car seats reduce the risk of hospitalization by 67 per cent for children age four and under.