Road safety message delivered with song

A new booster seat campaign aimed at parents and young children will deliver in-car safety messages by way musical performances at 12 North Shore schools this week.

The campaign, which features a large rooster mascot and a singing performance group called ‘The Polka Dots,’ aims to educate children about the safety benefits of using their booster seats.

Currently New Zealand law states all children up to five years old must use a booster seat however research identifies height as the important determining factor and not a child’s age in determining when a child can safely end using a booster seat.

The ideal height a child should be before moving to an adult seat is 148cm. Based on average heights, research suggests all four and five year olds and 90 percent of six, seven and eight year olds should be in booster seats.

Without a booster seat an adult seat belt rests too high across the child’s neck and stomach significantly increasing the risk of head, spine and abdominal injuries in a road crash.

Angie Cheong, Road Safety Co-ordinator at North Shore City Council, says most children are out of booster seats too early as parents simply aren’t aware of the benefits of keeping them in them for longer.

“Many parents believe, because of the law worded the way that it is, that it must be safe to stop using a booster seat when a child reaches five or six years of age. This simply is not the case so we are trying to educate parents and children that the decision should be based on height and not age,” says Ms Cheong.

The campaign is timely in that the ‘Safer Journeys 2020 – NZ Road Safety Strategy’, launched this month by Transport Minister Stephen Joyce states New Zealand has one of the highest child road fatality rates in the OECD and this is in part due to the lack, or incorrect use, of appropriate restraints.

North Shore City Council would like to invite media to come along and see one of the musical events being performed at a North Shore School this week and help us to communicate this important child safety booster seat message.
(Please see below for event details.)

The North Shore booster seat campaign has been organised by North Shore City Council, Safekids and Plunket and is supported by NZ Police and Brain Injury Association. It is part a nationwide effort called Booster Rooster which aims to have more children in booster seats for longer.

ENDS

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