Nova Scotia’s rules of the road are getting a major rewrite on October 19, 2026, when the new Traffic Safety Act replaces the Motor Vehicle Act, legislation that has been in place since the early 1900s.
The province says the new Act is designed to modernize road rules and give government more flexibility to respond to changing transportation needs. Until October 19, the current Motor Vehicle Act remains in effect.
Here are the changes and what they mean in practice.
Child seats: children will stay in each stage longer
A child younger than two must use a rear-facing restraint. The rear-facing category also applies to a child of any age weighing less than 10 kg (22 lb).
Forward-facing restraints apply to children who are at least two and weigh at least 10 kg, including children four or older who still weigh less than 18 kg.
Booster-seat rules cover children aged four to under nine who weigh at least 18 kg and are shorter than 145 cm.
The province also clarifies that child-restraint rules apply to motorcycles.
Cycling rules become more detailed
Drivers must give bicycles at least one metre when passing, including when the cyclist is in an unprotected bike lane.
A driver cannot pass a bicycle and then turn right while that bicycle is approaching from behind.
Cyclists generally must walk bicycles through crosswalks, unless a physical disability prevents this. Children under 14 may ride on sidewalks.
Bicycle passengers need a dedicated seat and helmet, and helmets are required in bike trailers.
New rules also cover left turns, roundabouts and overtaking by bicycles.
Parking, e-bikes and roadside rules change
Drivers will be permitted to park up to 30 cm from a curb, instead of 15 cm.
There are new specific offences for parking:
- on sidewalks;
- on or alongside medians;
- in front of driveways without permission; and
- in front of community mailboxes unless delivering or collecting mail.
The minimum age for operating a power-assisted bicycle becomes 14, while its maximum speed rises from 30 km/h to 32 km/h.
Rickshaw and pedicab operators must be at least 19.
A new “dooring” rule applies to any approaching traffic, not only bicycles. As the province puts it: “Stop, look, open, close.”
School buses, passengers and professional drivers
Traffic in both directions must stop for a school bus displaying flashing red lights.
Drivers on the opposite side of a divided highway do not have to stop.
Taxi and rideshare drivers will no longer be exempt from seatbelt requirements.
Passengers must have designated seating positions, although bus passengers may access washrooms while the bus is moving.
People in work vehicles may ride seated in the back of a truck without a seatbelt when travelling below 40 km/h.
Other vehicles get clearer rules
Recovery vehicles, a broader category that includes tow trucks such as flatbeds, will be allowed to cross divided highways.
Recovery and service trucks may use flashing red lights roadside.
Search-and-rescue vehicles may use flashing amber lights while responding to rescue operations, while snow and road-maintenance vehicles may reverse when necessary.
Specific offences are also being created for bicycles, electric scooters and recreational devices such as skateboards and kick-scooters, without driver’s-licence demerit points.
Greater consequences when vulnerable road users are affected
The Act introduces the term “vulnerable road user.”
The definition includes pedestrians, certain roadside workers and emergency personnel, peace officers, farm-vehicle occupants, motorcycles, bicycles and certain other conveyances.
For convictions involving careful and prudent driving, careful and prudent speed or dangerous speed, a court can suspend a driver’s licence for up to one year.
Injury or death involving a vulnerable road user may be treated as an aggravating factor when determining the suspension length.
Fines for those offences are doubled when a vulnerable road user is affected.
Nova Scotia Traffic Safety Act changes.