The case of a mother who was caught speeding at 114kmh with one child across her lap - and another also unrestrained in the front seat - has been described as "absolutely heart-wrenching" by police.
The Waikato Road Policing Team posted on its Facebook page how the woman was pulled over for speeding on the State Highway 1 Waikato Expressway.
"It's absolutely heart-wrenching and extremely disappointing when we pull over a vehicle for speeding, and walk alongside the vehicle only to find a young child lying across their mother's lap, and another child lying unrestrained in the front seat with the seat folded back," police said in the post.
Worst of all, police said, the baby seat was found in the vehicle's boot.
"I don't know what goes though the minds of drivers like this, to put your tamariki/mokopuna at such extreme risks."
The woman was fined $80 for exceeding the 100kmh speed limit by 14km, $150 for failing to ensure a child under 7 was in an approved child restraint, and another $150 for the child in the front seat also being unrestrained.
The police team said it would be referring the case on "to the appropriate agencies".
"This irresponsible neglectful behaviour and risk to our young ones will not be tolerated."
The post has attracted hundreds of likes, more than 100 shares and dozens of responses from outraged commenters.
"Pretty sad really. All the info is out there and obviously these people choose to ignore it," one person said.
Others condemned the case as "absolutely disgusting" and "incredibly irresponsible".
Waikato Police Senior Sergeant Rupert Friend said motorists needed to be conscious of the safety of passengers and ensure that children were belted in properly.
"Because if someone else makes a mistake, that puts their own children in danger - so a child seat is well worth having in place."
According to statistics cited by Safekids Aotearoa, 15 children die in car crashes every year in New Zealand.
Children were considered safer in a child restraint until they were 148cm tall.
According to 2008 Starship Children's Hospital data, at least one child a week sustained injuries as a passenger in a vehicle involved in a crash.
Child safety seats, correctly installed and used, could reduce the risk of death by 70% in infants, and by up to 54% in toddlers, and could also reduce hospitalisation by 69% for children aged under 4 years.
The organisation encouraged parents to always use the correct child restraint and booster seat for their child's height, weight and age and follow the manufacturers' instructions for sizing and installation of restraints.
Safekids further advised the back seat was safest for kids, and to never place a rear-facing restraint in the front seat of a vehicle with an airbag.
