NZ trails world on car-seats, Safekids says

New Zealand is trailing the developed world in children's car-seat regulations, says Safekids.

The national child injury prevention service is calling for changes to be made to improve safety.

"We are trailing the rest of the OECD. We used to be at the forefront on this issue. A change in regulation would help reduce death and injuries of children in car crashes," Safekids direct Ann Weaver said.

Safekids has just wrapped up a nationwide travelling roadshow designed to educate parents on keeping children safe in car restraints.

The service is recommending that children up to 148cm tall or 10 years old, whichever comes first, use appropriate car seats.

Currently five to seven-year-olds are only required to use a child restraint if one is in the car. Children over eight don't need to use one at all.

It was important that education of parents and caregivers went hand in hand with regulation, Ms Weaver told NZPA.

The changes to car-seat regulations are part of the Ministry of Transport's Safer Journeys 2020 initiative and Ms Weaver said the sooner an improvement was made the better.

- NZPA