Children not buckled up safely
More than one-quarter of Southland children are not being buckled up safely, a survey has found.
Southland police and Plunket have been running fortnightly checkpoints throughout the region for the past seven years, checking more than 7500 child safety restraints. The restraints were incorrectly installed in 27 per cent of cases.
Plunket Southland car seat service manager Kathryn Impelmans said the focus of the checkpoints was on education.
Families were able to get help later on if the faults could not be fixed at the checkpoints, she said.
‘‘In almost all cases, the families didn’t realise they were making a mistake,’’ Impelmans said.
‘‘[The checkpoints are] a winwin situation where families can be sure their precious children remain safe.’’
Incorrectly fitted child restraints could be ineffective in a crash, she said.
Sergeant Deon McNaught, of Invercargill, said educating parents on how to restrain their child could help prevent fatalities and serious injuries.
The police were committed to working with Plunket to ensure children’s safety, he said.
The most common faults were restraints not being fitted properly in cars, the belt not being fastened around the child properly and seats being used past their expiry date.
While the latest survey shows 27 per cent of children are still not being restrained properly, the results show a significant improvement. In 2013 a police and Plunket survey of 183 children in Invercargill and Gore found 51 per cent were not fastened in safely.