Is this a proper harness for school bus transport of a 4 1/2 year old

My dd is 4 1/2, 36# and 41 or so inches. She is riding in a school bus (short, but yellow) to her Special Needs preschool class. She is wearing a scoliosis brace and not fitting into the Chase we had been using for the bus. (regularly rides in a Nauti, looking to swith to RSTV)

I am driving her the first 2 days, but today I met the bus driver at the school and she fitted then gave to me E-Z on Vest\Seat Mount (light blue and little parachute on it) Model Number 103Z/S, date of mfg May 2011. SD rarely provides harnesses, pre-K parents with SNK are to provide their own seat. Due to the brace they agreed to provide the harness. The seat on the bus had on the seat itself what looked to be the right counterpart to hook her into, and driver showed me the release behind the seat to allow for quick removal in case of an accident. I am to take the vest home and its to be on her when the bus picks her up. This seems to be it: http://www.ezonpro.com/products/schoolBus/adjustableVest/103z.shtml

So, is this what she should be riding in?



TIA
Di

Yes, that is a proper and good option for her, it sounds like.

And it sounds like she was fitted properly for it AND the bus driver knows how to use it properly. I'd say you are good to go!

Yipeee. One less thing to stress over. Our SD outsources bus transpo. SO you talk to the transportation guy at the school district who inturns communicates with the provider, who in turn talks to the bus driver. So I am never quite sure all info makes it thru that loop.

Bus driver said she is not allowed to put the vest on her (?). So off to print the instructions and show day care how to put it on.

Thanks so much for the reply.

Di

Hi,

As Ketchupqueen has said, the E-Z-On is an excellent option as it has been properly crashed tested. I’m sure you have thought everything through but it is worth being aware of the seat mount as well as the vest.

When we first used the E-Z-On vests (we now use the 203 and 103Z models in our car), we discovered that in focusing on getting the vest fitted properly, we neglected to check that the seat mount had been installed correctly.

The webbing needs to be snug around the seat frame with the button of the release buckle facing inwards towards the seat back. Also be sure that the snap hooks at the waist do not extend more than 2 inches out from the seat cushion. The hooks which attach to the shoulders should obviously be adjusted so the wearer is comfortable but they should not allow the occupant to lean forward.

In our unawareness, when we installed the seat mount on a bus for the first time we left it quite loose and the wearer (who has limited muscle strength), despite having a correctly fitting vest, slipped someway down the seat. As soon as we adjusted the seat mount the fit was much better with the waist belt of the vest sitting over the wearer’s hips as it should.

You mentioned that the driver has demonstrated the buckle behind the seat, so that would lead me to believe the staff have a decent level of training. However I would still check the seat mount is correctly installed just for peace of mind. The manual can be downloaded here.

I hope this of some help.