BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Only about 80 percent of children in the Central Valley are using car seats and seat belts, and in many cases those restraints aren't being used correctly, according to the California Highway Patrol.

That's why State Farm and local law enforcement agencies are hitting the street to lend a helping hand to parents this weekend.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death and injury to children in the United States, said Darlene Denison, State Farm agent.

"This as a huge opportunity to make the difference of lives of families by hopefully avoiding those tragedies and helping parents with those care seats because proper use of car seats and proper use of safety restraints will insure that more children aren't hurt in accidents when they do happen," said Denison.

Experts state that many times the simple mistakes are what result in tragic accidents.

"It could be the seat belt isn't locked properly, it could be the harness doesn't start where they need to start, whether the child is rear facing or forward facing, it could be the wrong seat for the child completely, it could be the child is forward facing when they should be rear facing," said Carina Ortiz, community relation specialist for the Bakersfield Police Department.

Even if you think you are taking all the right safety precautions, it doesn't hurt to have an expert double-check, said Ortiz.

The 9th annual Child Safety Day will be held Saturday, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the Burlington Coat Factory located at 4400 California Ave. The event is free.