AS/NZS 4370:1996

Australian/New Zealand Standard®

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Restraint of children with disabilities

in motor vehicles
 AS/NZS 4370:1996

This Joint Australian/New Zealand Standard was prepared by Joint Technical

Committee CS/85, Child Restraints for Use in Motor Vehicles. It was approved on
behalf of the Council of Standards Australia on 9 January 1996 and on behalf of
the Council of Standards New Zealand on 15 January 1996. It was published on
5 March 1996.

The following interests are represented on Committee CS/85:

Australian Automobile Association
Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Australian Chamber of Manufactures
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia
Consumers’ Federation of Australia
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Department of Fair Trading, N.S.W.

Department of Transport (Australia)
Federal Bureau of Consumer Affairs (Australia)
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers
National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia
National Health and Medical Research Council
N.S.W. Health Department
Roads and Traffic Authority of N.S.W.
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
VicRoads
Wellington Manufacturers Association, (New Zealand)

Additional interests participating in preparation of Standard:

Illawarra Regional Hospitals
New Zealand Disabilities Resource Centre
Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney
Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Technical Aid to the Disabled
The Spastic Centre of New South Wales

Review of Standards. To keep abreast of progress in industry, Joint Australian/

New Zealand Standards are subject to periodic review and are kept up to date by the
issue of amendments or new editions as necessary. It is important therefore that
Standards users ensure that they are in possession of the latest edition, and any
amendments thereto.
Full details of all Joint Standards and related publications will be found in the Standards
Australia and Standards New Zealand Catalogue of Publications; this information is
supplemented each month by the magazines ‘The Australian Standard’ and ‘Standards
New Zealand’, which subscribing members receive, and which give details of new
publications, new editions and amendments, and of withdrawn Standards.
Suggestions for improvements to Joint Standards, addressed to the head office of either
Standards Australia or Standards New Zealand, are welcomed. Notification of any
inaccuracy or ambiguity found in a Joint Australian/New Zealand Standard should be
made without delay in order that the matter may be investigated and appropriate action
taken.

This Standard was issued in draft form for comment as DR 94440.

 AS/NZS 4370:1996

Australian/New Zealand Standard®

This is a free 6 page sample. Access the full version at http://infostore.saiglobal.com.

Restraint of children with disabilities

in motor vehicles

PUBLISHED JOINTLY BY:

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA
1 The Crescent,
Homebush NSW 2140 Australia

STANDARDS NEW ZEALAND

Level 10, Standards House,
155 The Terrace,
Wellington 6001 New Zealand
ISBN 0 7337 0341 0
 AS / NZS 4370:1996 2

PREFACE

This Standard was prepared by the Joint Standards Australia /Standards New Zealand
Committee CS/85 on Child Restraints for Use in Motor Vehicles.
The objective of this Standard is to enable a prescriber to assess the need and find the
available options and the most suitable solution for restraining a child with one or more
disabilities while travelling in a motor vehicle.
To enable a child to travel in a motor vehicle and have protection in the event of an
impact, the guidelines in this Standard give restraint options in order of preference. They
range from the most desirable (the use of a child restraint which complies with
AS/NZS 1754) to the less preferable, but still focus on child protection.
The Standard covers children in the mass range up to 45 kg which is intended to cover the
50th percentile of children who are 131/2 to 141/2 years of age. Consideration was given to
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coverage of children of a higher mass, but constraints imposed by dummy size dictated
the 50th percentile coverage, which is normal practice in automotive restraints.
In using this Standard, prescribers and carers of children with disabilities should be aware
of existing legislation concerning the restraint of children in motor vehicles and
exemptions which may require a medical certificate.
The term ‘informative’ has been used in this Standard to define the application of the
appendix to which it applies. An ‘informative’ appendix is only for information and
guidance.

© Copyright STANDARDS AUSTRALIA / STANDARDS NEW ZEALAND

Users of Standards are reminded that copyright subsists in all Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand publications and software.
Except where the Copyright Act allows and except where provided for below no publications or software produced by
Standards Australia or Standards New Zealand may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means
without prior permission in writing from Standards Australia or Standards New Zealand. Permission may be conditional on an
appropriate royalty payment. Australian requests for permission and information on commercial software royalties should be directed to
the head office of Standards Australia. New Zealand requests should be directed to Standards New Zealand.
Up to 10 percent of the technical content pages of a Standard may be copied for use exclusively in-house by purchasers of the
Standard without payment of a royalty or advice to Standards Australia or Standards New Zealand.
Inclusion of copyright material in computer software programs is also permitted without royalty payment provided such programs
are used exclusively in-house by the creators of the programs.
Care should be taken to ensure that material used is from the current edition of the Standard and that it is updated whenever the Standard
is amended or revised. The number and date of the Standard should therefore be clearly identified.
The use of material in print form or in computer software programs to be used commercially, with or without payment, or in commercial
contracts is subject to the payment of a royalty. This policy may be varied by Standards Australia or Standards New Zealand at any time.
 3 AS / NZS 4370:1996

CONTENTS
Page

SECTION 1 SCOPE AND GENERAL

1.1 SCOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRESCRIBER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SECTION 2 RESTRAINING DEVICES AND ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT

2.1 MODIFYING A CHILD RESTRAINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 USE OF ADDITIONAL PADDING IN A RESTRAINT OPTION . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 USE OF BOOSTER SEATS AND BOOSTER CUSHIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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2.4 POSITIONING DEVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.5 SPECIAL PURPOSE CHILD RESTRAINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.6 OCCUPIED WHEELCHAIRS IN MOTOR VEHICLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.7 RESTRAINT OF ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

SECTION 3 SPECIFIC DISABILITIES AND RECOMMENDED RESTRAINT

OPTIONS
3.1 CHILDREN IN BILATERAL LOWER LIMB PLASTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.2 INFANTS WITH PIERRE ROBIN SYNDROME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.3 CHILDREN WITH MOVEMENT OR POSTURE DISORDERS, INCLUDING
CEREBRAL PALSY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.4 CHILDREN WITH BEHAVIOURAL DISORDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

APPENDICES
A BACKGROUND AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
B BUSES AND VANS SUITABLE FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CHILDREN
WITH DISABILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

First published as AS/NZS 4370:1996.

Incorporating:
Amdt 1—1999
 AS / NZS 4370:1996 4

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA / STANDARDS NEW ZEALAND

Australian / New Zealand Standard

Restraint of children with disabilities in motor vehicles

S E C T I O N 1 S C O P E A N D G E N E R A L

1.1 SCOPE This Standard sets out options for restraining a child with one or more
disabilities while travelling in a motor vehicle, to minimize the risk of bodily injury in an
impact. This Standard does not include the restraint of children in motor vehicles
specifically designed or modified and converted into ambulances.
NOTE: Appendix A gives some background to the need for the Standard and makes some
recommendations.
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1.2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS The following documents are referred to in this

Standard:
AS/NZS
1754 Child restraint systems for use in motor vehicles
2942 Wheelchair occupant restraint assemblies for motor vehicles
3856 Hoists and ramps for people with disabilities — Vehicle-mounted
3856.1 Part 1: Product requirements
3856.2 Part 2: Installation requirements
4535 Ambulance restraint systems
FEDERAL OFFICE OF ROAD SAFETY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT
Australian Design Rules for Motor Vehicles and Trailers
Supplement to the Australian Design Rules for Motor Vehicles and Trailers — Vehicle
Standards Bulletin No. 5, National Code of Practice, Manufacture of additional seats
NEW ZEALAND LAND TRANSPORT SAFETY AUTHORITY
Transport (Vehicle Standards) Regulations, 1990 (and subsequent notices)
Land Transport Rules
Passenger Vehicle Safety Standards and Passenger Service Vehicle Rules

1.3 DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this Standard, the definitions given in
AS/NZS 1754, and those below, apply.
1.3.1 Carer(s) — the person or persons responsible for the wellbeing of the child.
1.3.2 Children (or child) with disabilities — children up to 45 kg mass, with one or
more disabilities.
1.3.3 Modified child restraint — a child restraint which originally complied with
AS/NZS 1754, but which has been structurally changed to suit a specific need.
1.3.4 Positioning device — a device which may or may not be placed on the child before
the child is placed in the motor vehicle; is used in conjunction with an occupant restraint
system, and performs a postural or behavioural control function. A positioning device may
or may not be designed to withstand crash forces.
1.3.5 Prescriber — the person or persons responsible for recommending the way in
which a child with a disability should be transported in a motor vehicle.

COPYRIGHT
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AS/NZS 4370:1996, Restraint of children with

disabilities in motor vehicles
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