Parents are being warned not to place their children in danger and risk killing them by installing their car seats incorrectly.

Tauranga Plunket car seat rental schemes manager Sandy Waugh says the incorrect installation of car seats frustrates her.

'I get cross when so many parents and caregivers think all they have to do is get hold of a car seat and put the safety belt wherever it looks like it should go.”
She says it's frustrating when people don't take the time to read instructions and wriggle the seat to see if there is too much movement.

'With vehicle safety, you only get one chance to get it right.

'An incorrectly installed car seat will not support and protect the child the way it's designed to.”

Sandy says if a child's car seat is installed incorrectly, in an emergency the child may come out of it or come in contact with a seat or the dash, causing serious injuries.

'I can't stress how important it is to read the instructions which came with the seat.

'I have been installing car seats in cars for 24 years, but I still read the instructions when I come across a seat I haven't seen before.”

She says there are hundreds of different models available.

'Some seats seem impossible to fit in some cars, due in part to the length of the vehicle safety belt.

'Plunket's advice is to ‘try before you buy or hire a car seat' – not all seats fit all cars.”

By law, if a car has a top tether strap it must be fixed to the correct fitting in the car and not a luggage tie down fitting which often only has a 4kg load capacity.

Sandy says there is a definite problem in the Bay of Plenty with people installing car seats incorrectly.

'Our annual Kiddi Klick campaign reveals 75 per cent of car seats are either not fitted correctly or the child is not correctly fitted into the seat.

'People should always read the instructions before they buy.”