The duty of care was introduced in the Highway Safety Code in 2018 and is one of the core principles of this act, which prescribes traffic rules on Québec roads.​​​​

The duty of care concerns all road users. This means that:​​​​

• Each road user has a duty, especially toward more vulnerable users, to be careful and considerate when travelling on the road network. Heavy vehicle drivers must exercise caution with all “smaller” users. Drivers of other types of road vehicles have a duty to be careful with cyclists, and cyclists have a duty to be careful with pedestrians.
• Drivers of road vehicles have a duty to show extra care for more vulnerable users such as persons with reduced mobility, cyclists and pedestrians.
• Vulnerable users have a duty to adopt behaviours that enhance their own safety.

The Highway Safety Code does not provide for penalties specifically for the non-observance of the duty of care, as the other rules of the Code and related penalties reflect this duty.