Parents, grandparents and caregivers are being encouraged to head to Police College in Upper Hutt this morning for free car seat checks.
The event organised by charity Cheeks in Seats will see expert child restraint technicians offer free non-judgmental safety checks on car seats at the New Zealand Royal Police College from 9am-12.00pm and at the Upper Hutt City Council Carpark, from 1.30-4.30pm.
Mechanics will also be available to install free anchor bolts for tether straps for seats as needed.
"As a parent it can be daunting to try and install a car seat correctly, and it's not always easy to get it right the first time," says Cheeks on Seats director Rachael Hannah.
"In our experience approximately 80 per cent of child restraints checked at road side checkpoints turn out to be installed incorrectly."
Ms Hannah said from similar events held in Auckland last November the results were even higher, with 94 per cent of seats checked found to be incorrectly installed.
According to the AA each year "about four children aged under 10 lose their lives as a passenger in a crash. More than 200 are injured."
Although there is no clear data on how many children killed or injured in a crash were not properly restrained, a Ministry of Transport survey found three to five per cent of children under 10 were completely unrestrained while in a vehicle.
Today's event comes ahead of Road Safety Week 2018, which runs from 7-13 May.
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