chapter 2 — you and your vehicle Safety restraints for children crash fact stage 1 — rear-facing stage 3 — booster seat 15 stage 2 — forward-facing with tether Every year in B.C., an average of 1,300 children under age nine  are injured and three are killed in motor vehicle crashes. Every  time a child travels as a passenger in a motor vehicle, they are at  risk of being involved in a collision. The correct use of a Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards  (CMVSS) — approved child safety seat will ensure a child is  properly restrained and significantly reduce their risk of serious  injury or death in the event of a crash. It’s your responsibility as  the driver to make sure that all your passengers are properly  secured with seatbelts or child‑restraint systems. A correctly used child  safety seat reduces  the risk of fatality by  71 per cent and the  risk of serious injury by  67 per cent. It’s your  responsibility as the  driver to make sure that  children are seated in  the appropriate child  safety seat and you may  be ticketed and fined for  failing to do so. • From birth until  at least  one year old and 9 kg (20 lbs). • Place in back seat. • Position centre‑rear. • Rear‑facing as long as possible. • NOT on front seat with an active airbag. • Must be over one year old and over 9 kg (20 lbs). • Up to  at least 18 kg (40 lbs). • Place in back seat. • May remain rear‑facing if allowed by manufacturer’s weight  limits. • Always use with a tether strap. • Booster seats ensure proper seatbelt fit. They raise the child to  correctly position the adult seatbelt across the bony structures  of the chest and pelvis. It’s safest if a child remains in a booster  seat until they reach 145 cm (4’9”). • Must be over 18 kg (40 lbs). • Required until  at least  nine years old  or  145 cm (4’9”),  whichever comes first. • Place in back seat. • Booster is used with a lap/shoulder seatbelt. • Position lap belt low over hip bones and shoulder belt over  shoulder and in front of chest. • Do not use a booster seat with only a lap belt.