Seat rules change to keep kids safer

Children under the age of 7 will be required by law to use a booster seat, under a new law that takes effect from November 1.

The change was announced by Associate Transport Minister Michael Woodhouse on June 28, and will bring New Zealand in line with standards in Australia and Japan.

The change was advocated for by Safekids, and was supported by Plunket.

Sue Campbell, Plunket's national child safety adviser, says the change is good news.

"Without a booster seat, an adult seatbelt sits too high on a child," she says.

"In a crash this can result in serious head and spinal cord injuries, and horrific injuries to the abdomen including ruptured livers and spleens."

Sue says booster seats position children higher so they get the full safety benefit of the adult seatbelt.

Studies have shown that a child needs to be 148cm tall to get the full benefits from an adult seatbelt.

For most kids, this isn't until they are aged between 9 and 12, and Plunket says it would like to see the law extended, making it mandatory for children aged up to 11, or under 148cm, to use a booster seat.

"Car crashes are one of the biggest dangers to New Zealand children," Sue says. "We have one of the highest child road fatality rates in the OECD."

As the new requirements won't come into force until November, parents have time to purchase appropriate child restraints, such as booster seats, for children who may have stopped using them or who have outgrown their current seat.

Michael says the changes "will improve the safety of child passengers and are designed to reduce injuries and save young lives".

Key safety messages

• 
  Always use the correct child restraint and booster seat for your child's height and age.
• 
  Follow the manufacturers' instructions for your child restraint.
• 
  Remember all child car seats being used in New Zealand must meet the accepted safety standards.
• 
  Make sure your child restraint or booster seat correctly fits your vehicle.
• 
  Get help installing your child restraint or booster. Contact an NZTA-certified certified child restraint technician for support and to get help to correctly install a child restraint.
• 
  The back seat is safest for kids.

- Sourced from Safekids website