Survey shows many children at risk in cars

Motorists are failing to buckle their kids in properly.

Fifty-two drivers were stopped in an hour at two police checkpoints outside New Lynn Primary School and St Leonards Road School.

New Zealand Child Safety Foundation technicians were on hand to check child safety restraints.

The results were not good.

Two infant seats were the wrong way around. Another had a loose harness.

Six child restraints had no tethers installed and 13 were incorrectly fitted. Another two were past their expiry dates.

Two booster seats were not correctly installed.

And several children under five were wearing seat belts but not using booster seats correctly.

Foundation spokeswoman Berenice Langson expressed her disappointment.

"An average of 16 children are killed in motor vehicle crashes each year and at least 75 aged 14 years or younger are injured severely enough to be hospitalised," she says.

"This equates to five children each week being killed or injured as a result of being passengers in motor vehicles."

She say babies should remain rear-facing until they are at least 12-13 months old.

"Babies are not put together like adults," she says.

"We can survive whiplash but a baby's neck can snap and cause a fatal injury in a collision."

Children must be in booster seats until at least the age of five.

For more information, go online to safe2go.co.nz.

- © Fairfax NZ News