Australia & New Zealand users
The Buckleguard has been designed in consideration of Australian and New Zealand Standards AS/NZ 4370:2013 Restraint of Children with Disabilities or Medical Conditions in Motor Vehicles. A copy of this standard is available for purchase from Standards Australia.
AS/NZ 4370:2013 is a voluntary standard with the objective to 'enable a prescriber to assess the need, identify the available options and recommend the most suitable option for restraining a child, with one or more disabilities, or a medical condition, while travelling in a motor vehicle'. A prescriber is a person responsible for assessing the individual's needs and prescribing the way in which the user with a disability or medical condition should be transported in a motor vehicle e.g. an allied health professional or doctor etc. Prescribers should consider all options such as using restraints compliant with AS/NZ 4370:2013, increasing supervision, considering unintended consequences etc, before prescribing the Buckleguard.
One recommendation of the Standard is that a letter is obtained from the user's prescriber, and kept in the vehicle where the seat belt restraint is used. The letter should outline the medical condition / disability reason for why the Buckleguard has been prescribed as a seat belt restraint. We recommend the same process for adult users.
While the Buckleguard is one available option for users to travel safely, as a product on its own, cannot be unilaterally compliant with the Standard. Rather, the Standard recommends prescribers follow its decision process when prescribing seat belt restraints in order to be compliant.
In addition, various Australian states and jurisdictions have different requirements, advice and/or legislations for these types of products for prescribers. The not-for-profit charity Mobility and Accessibility for Children in Australia Ltd (MACA) provides a great overview of various guidances on their website www.macahub.org.
The Buckleguard may not be suitable for all users depending on their unique behaviours. There may be unintended consequences such as users sliding under the seat belt to release themselves. More stringent vehicle restraints such as vests may be appropriate and suppliers such as our sister company FAS Therapeutic Equipment offer these (www.fasequipment.com). We encourage carers and users to discuss their needs with their prescriber to determine whether the Buckleguard is an appropriate product.