Seat Belt and Child Restraint System Regulations
made under subsection 175(8) of the
Motor Vehicle Act
R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 293
O.I.C. 2005-519 (November 24, 2005, effective January 1, 2007), N.S. Reg. 221/2005
amended to O.I.C. 2020-333 (effective December 15, 2020), N.S. Reg. 188/2020
Table of Contents
Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
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Citation
Definitions
Passengers less than 9 years old must be secured
Classification of passengers less than 9 years old
Standards for child restraint systems for infants
Standards for child restraint systems for young children
Standards for child restraint systems for older children
Out-of-Province motor vehicles
Child restraint systems on buses
Letter signed by qualified medical practitioner or nurse practitioner
Motor vehicle used for transporting prisoners
Citation
1 These regulations may be cited as the Seat Belt and Child Restraint System Regulations.
Definitions
2 In these regulations,
“Act” means the Motor Vehicle Act;
“booster seat” means a child’s car seat that is designed to seat an older child and is
used, together with a seat belt, as a child restraint system for the child;
“Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 207- Anchorage of Seats” means section
207 of Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations;
“Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 - Occupant Restraint Systems in
Frontal Impact” means section 208 of Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety
Regulations;
“Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209 - Seat belt Assemblies” means
section 209 of Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations;
“Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210 - Seat belt Assembly Anchorages”
means section 210 of Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations;
“Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210.1- User-friendly tether Anchorages
for Restraint Systems” means section 210.1 of Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle
Safety Regulations;
“Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210.2 - Lower Universal Anchorage
Systems for Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions” means section 210.2 of
Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations;
“Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 - Child Restraint Systems” means
Schedule 3, CMVSS 213 - Child Restraint Systems to the Motor Vehicle Restraint
Systems and Booster Cushions Safety Regulations;
“Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.1 - Infant Restraint Systems” means
Schedule 4, CMVSS 213.1 - Infant Restraint Systems to the Motor Vehicle
Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions Safety Regulations;
“Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.2 - Booster Cushions” means
Schedule 5, CMVSS 213.2 - Booster Cushions to the Motor Vehicle Restraint
Systems and Booster Cushions Safety Regulations;
“Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.3 - Restraint Systems for Disabled
Persons” means Schedule 6, CMVSS 213.3 - Restraint Systems for Disabled
Persons to the Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions Safety
Regulations;
“Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.4 - Built-in Child Restraint Systems
and Built-in Booster Cushions” means section 213.4 of Schedule IV to the Motor
Vehicle Safety Regulations;
“Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.5 - Restraint Systems for Infants with
Special Needs” means Schedule 7, CMVSS 213.5 - Restraint Systems for Infants
with Special Needs to the Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions
Safety Regulations;
“Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations” means the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations
made under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada);
“Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions Safety Regulations”
means the Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions Safety
Regulations made under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada);
“nurse practitioner” means a nurse practitioner licensed under the Nursing Act;
“out-of-Province vehicle” means a motor vehicle that is registered or required to be
registered in a jurisdiction other than the Province and operated in the Province,
but that is not required to be registered under the Act.
Child Restraint Systems
Passengers less than 9 years old must be secured
3 Except as provided in subsection 4(2) and Section 8A, a child who is less than 9 years
old must be secured in a child restraint system when in a motor vehicle that is being
operated on a highway.
Classification of passengers less than 9 years old
4 (1) A child who is less than 9 years old is classified into the following classes of
passenger:
(a) infants: all children who are less than 1 year of age and those children of
any age who weigh less than 10 kg (22 lb.) are classified as infants;
(b) young children: all children who are at least 1 year of age and weigh at
least 10 kg (22 lb.) and less than 18 kg (40 lb.) are classified as young
children;
(c) older children: all children under 9 years of age who weigh at least 18 kg
(40 lb.) and have a standing height of less than 145 cm (57 in.) are classified
as older children.
(2) A child who does not fit the criteria for the classes of passenger described in
subsection (1) because the child weighs 18 kg (40 lb.) or more and has a standing
height of 145 cm (57 in.) or more is not required to be secured in a child restraint
system.
Standards for child restraint systems for infants
5 (1) An infant in a motor vehicle that is being operated on a highway must be secured
in a rearward-facing child restraint system that
(a) conforms to the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
213.1 - Infant Restraint Systems or Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
213.5 - Restraint Systems for Infants with Special Needs; and
(b) is otherwise used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
(2) A rearward-facing child restraint system must not be used in a motor vehicle seat
that is equipped with an active frontal air bag.
Standards for child restraint systems for young children
6 A young child in a motor vehicle that is being operated on a highway must be secured in
a child restraint system that
(a) conforms to the requirements of 1 of the following standards:
(i) Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 - Child Restraint
Systems,
(ii) Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.1 - Infant Restraint
Systems,
(iii) Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.3 - Restraint Systems for
Disabled Persons,
(iv) Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.4 - Built-in Child
Restraint Systems and Built-in Booster Cushions,
(v) Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.5 - Restraint Systems for
Infants with Special Needs; and
(b) is otherwise used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Standards for child restraint systems for older children
7 An older child in a motor vehicle that is being operated on a highway must be secured in
a child restraint system that
(a) conforms to Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.2 - Booster
Cushions, if it is a booster seat child restraint system, or 1 of the standards
listed in clause 6(a), if it is any other type of child restraint system; and
(b) is otherwise used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Out-of-Province motor vehicles
8 (1) Sections 2 to 7 do not apply to a child in an out-of-Province vehicle, if the driver
and passengers in the motor vehicle comply with all requirements for child
restraint systems in force in the jurisdiction in which the motor vehicle is registered
or required to be registered.
(2) Despite subsection (1), if the jurisdiction in which an out-of-Province vehicle is
registered or required to be registered does not require a child who is less than 16
years old to be secured in a child restraint system, the child must wear a seat belt if
a seating position with a seat belt is available to them.
Child restraint systems on buses
8A (1) In this Section, “manufacturer-installed system” means a system installed by a
manufacturer in accordance with the following standards as required by Schedule
III to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations made under the Motor Vehicle Safety
Act (Canada):
(a) Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 207- Anchorage of Seats;
(b) Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 - Occupant Restraint Systems in
Frontal Impact;
(c) Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209 - Seat belt Assemblies;
(d) Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210 - Seat belt Assembly
Anchorages;
(e) Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210.1- User-friendly tether
Anchorages for Restraint Systems;
(f) Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210.2 - Lower Universal
Anchorage Systems for Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions.
(2) Sections 3 to 7 do not apply to a child who is less than 9 years old when in a bus,
school bus or transit bus being operated on the highway if there is no seating
position with a manufacturer-installed system that allows the use of a child
restraint system available to the child.
Seat Belt Exemptions
Letter signed by qualified medical practitioner or nurse practitioner
9 A person who is exempt from wearing a seat belt or child restraint system under clause
175(7)(b) of the Act must produce a letter signed by a qualified medical practitioner or
nurse practitioner when requested by a peace officer and the letter must be received in
evidence in any proceedings in any court without proof of the signature of the medical
practitioner or nurse practitioner.
Motor vehicle used for transporting prisoners
10 The driver and passengers of a motor vehicle used for transporting prisoners are exempt
from Section 175 of the Act while prisoners are being transported.
The following regulations are not yet in force and
are not included in the current consolidation: