[38] Bill 148 Royal Assent (PDF)
Bill 148 2006
An Act to amend the
Highway Traffic Act
respecting the use of seat belts
Note: This Act amends the Highway Traffic Act. For the legislative history of the Act, see Public Statutes - Detailed Legislative History on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
1. Section 106 of the Highway Traffic Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Seat belts
Seat belt assembly must not be removed or altered
106. (1) No person shall drive on a highway a motor vehicle in which a seat belt assembly required under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada) at the time that the vehicle was manufactured or imported into Canada has been removed, rendered partly or wholly inoperative, modified so as to reduce its effectiveness or is not operating properly through lack of maintenance.
Use of seat belt assembly by driver
(2) Every person who drives on a highway a motor vehicle in which a seat belt assembly is provided for the driver shall wear the complete seat belt assembly as required by subsection (5).
Use of seat belt assembly by passenger
(3) Every person who is at least 16 years old and is a passenger in a motor vehicle on a highway shall,
(a) occupy a seating position for which a seat belt assembly has been provided; and
(b) wear the complete seat belt assembly as required by subsection (5).
Driver to ensure young passenger uses seat belt assembly
(4) No person shall drive on a highway a motor vehicle in which there is a passenger who is under 16 years old unless,
(a) that passenger,
(i) occupies a seating position for which a seat belt assembly has been provided, and
(ii) is wearing the complete seat belt assembly as required by subsection (5); or
(b) that passenger is required by the regulations to be secured by a child seating system or child restraint system, and is so secured.
How to wear seat belt assembly
(5) A seat belt assembly shall be worn so that,
(a) the pelvic restraint is worn firmly against the body and across the hips;
(b) the torso restraint, if there is one, is worn closely against the body and over the shoulder and across the chest;
(c) the pelvic restraint, and the torso restraint, if there is one, are securely fastened; and
(d) no more than one person is wearing the seat belt assembly at any one time.
Exception
(6) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to a person,
(a) who is driving a motor vehicle in reverse;
(b) who holds a certificate signed by a legally qualified medical practitioner certifying that the person is,
(i) for the period stated in the certificate, unable for medical reasons to wear a seat belt assembly, or
(ii) because of the person's size, build or other physical characteristic, unable to wear a seat belt assembly; or
(c) who is actually engaged in work which requires him or her to alight from and re-enter the motor vehicle at frequent intervals and the motor vehicle does not travel at a speed exceeding 40 kilometres per hour.
Same
(7) Clause (4) (a) does not apply in respect of a passenger if the passenger holds a certificate signed by a legally qualified medical practitioner certifying that the passenger is,
(a) for the period stated in the certificate, unable for medical reasons to wear a seat belt assembly; or
(b) because of the person's size, build or other physical characteristic, unable to wear a seat belt assembly.
Regulations
(8) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,
(a) requiring that children or any class of children be secured in child seating systems and child restraint systems in motor vehicles on highways;
(b) prescribing the specifications of child seating systems and child restraint systems, prescribing different child seating systems and child restraint systems for different classes of children, governing the use of such systems, including prescribing the manner in which a child is to be secured in child seating systems and child restraint systems;
(c) prescribing classes of children, based on the age, height or weight of a child or the relationship of a child to the driver or owner of the motor vehicle;
(d) prescribing classes of motor vehicles, drivers and passengers;
(e) exempting from any of the provisions of this section or the regulations made under this section,
(i) any class of motor vehicle,
(ii) any class of driver or passenger, or
(iii) drivers carrying any prescribed class of passenger,
and prescribing conditions for any such exemption;
(f) prescribing circumstances in which drivers, or any class of driver, is exempt from any of the provisions of this section or the regulations made under this section, and prescribing conditions for any such exemption.
Definition
(9) In this section,
"seat belt assembly" means a device or assembly composed of straps, webbing or similar material that restrains the movement of a person in order to prevent or mitigate injury to the person and includes a pelvic restraint or a pelvic restraint and a torso restraint.
2. Section 106 of the Act, as re-enacted by section 1, is amended by adding the following subsections:
Police may request passenger's identification
(8.1) A police officer or officer appointed for carrying out the provisions of this Act may request that a passenger in a motor vehicle who appears to be at least 16 years old identify himself or herself if the officer has reason to believe that the passenger is contravening this section or the regulations made under this section.
Same
(8.2) A passenger who is requested to identify himself or herself under subsection (8.1) shall give the officer reasonable identification of himself or herself and, for such purposes, giving his or her correct name, date of birth and address is reasonable identification.
3. Clauses 207 (2) (a) and (c) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:
(a) subsection 106 (2) or (4);
. . . . .
(c) a regulation or by-law made or passed under a section or subsection referred to in clause (a) or (b) or under section 106; or
Commencement
4. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Same
(2) Sections 1, 2 and 3 come into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
Short title
5. The short title of this Act is the Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Seat Belts), 2006.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Explanatory Note was written as a reader's aid to Bill 148 and does not form part of the law. Bill 148 has been enacted as Chapter 25 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2006.
The Bill re-enacts section 106 of the Highway Traffic Act, which governs the use of seat belts. The section is changed to require that all passengers (excluding children) must wear a seat belt. The requirement that children be secured in a car seat, instead of a seat belt, is retained.
The re-enacted section sets out rules on how a seat belt is to be properly worn, including specifying that two or more people cannot share one seat belt.
The exemptions in the current section (for medical reasons, for driving in reverse and for work that requires frequent stops from a slow-moving vehicle) are retained. However, the section is amended so that passengers who are under 16 years old (excluding children in car seats) may only use the medical exemption.
A police officer's or other officer's power to request identification from a passenger who appears to be at least 16 years old is amended so that the passenger must give his or her date of birth, as well as his or her name and address, to the officer.
The regulation-making powers in section 106 are expanded respecting child car seats, and to permit exemptions in prescribed circumstances.