Dunedin police will randomly check ''young mums'' after changes to child restraint laws come into force next Friday.
From November 1, mandatory use of child restraints in vehicles will be extended by two years and all children will be required to be correctly secured in an approved restraint until their seventh birthday.
Dunedin police road policing manager Senior Sergeant Phil McDouall said police would undertake random checks of the new child restraint rules over two weekends in November.
''We will be targeting the places where we are going to find a lot of young mums - like The Warehouse and supermarket car parks.''
Parents who were non-compliant would not be fined.
''It is more of an education thing to start with ... we'll give them some brochures that explains it all. We don't go in heavy-handed, because there will be a lot of people who don't know the new rules.''
When police started enforcing the law, a caregiver could be fined $150 for failing to secure a child in an approved restraint.
At the random checks, police staff would also be looking at the condition of car seats.
''Most car seats only have a life expectancy of about 10 years.''
Plunket national child safety adviser Sue Campbell said she was ''unsure'' if people were prepared for the law change but families had had plenty of warning. Plunket had had more positive than negative feedback on the law change.
''Children aged 5 are too small to be able to sit in the vehicle seatbelt and be safe. A child restraint - a booster seat in most cases - certainly makes the vehicle seat belt sit better against them, so they are less likely to sustain injury.''
New Zealand Transport Agency road safety director Ernst Zollner said a child needed to seated in a restraint at the correct height to be protected in a crash.
''If not positioned correctly, the shoulder portion of a safety belt can cut across a child's neck and face and, in the event of a crash, can cause severe upper neck and spinal trauma.''
