Whanganui checkpoints find 60 of 146 children not secured in vehicles

Sergeant Colin Wright said Plunket organised anchor bolt installations and fixed seats after discovering 60 children were not properly restrained. Photo / File

A police operation in Whanganui found 60 children were not properly secured in vehicles.

The operation, targeting restraints in vehicles, spanned four hours at two locations and road policing officers from Whanganui received assistance from Royal New Zealand Police College, Highway Patrol, the Horizons Regional Council, Little Bubs and Plunket staff.

Plunket dealt with 146 children during the operation and found only 86 of them were properly secured in their vehicles.

"Five were not restrained at all, there were four expired seats, 11 seats not tethered, 20 seats installed incorrectly or in the wrong seat and the rest had minor issues," Sergeant Colin Wright, of Whanganui Police, said.

"Plunket organised for nine anchor bolts to be installed and they fixed 27 seats at the checkpoints."

It was part of a New Zealand-wide, long-term safety operation called Operation Five which aims to reduce road deaths by 5 per cent every year.

In July, the focus of the operation was on drivers and passengers failing to wear or properly wear seatbelts.

The operation resulted in 20 restraint infringement notices being issued, seven mobile phone offenders were caught and a disqualified driver was discovered.

Several warrant, registration and driver licence offences were also observed.