Taxis/Cabs with child seats

[alexandra uk]

We will be hiring a car, but on some evenings out we would like to have a few drinks, so does anyone know of any taxis/cabs that offer cars with childseats in them ?
Ds will be 14 months



68 to go

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

Public transportation (buses, cabs, etc.) in the states does not require children to be in carseats (although of course it is safer for them). Therefore, you will find very few, IF ANY, taxis/cabs that will have carseats in them. We have run into this situation in several places (New York City, Carribean islands, etc.) and we just take the fewest cab trips possible and hold on tight. I truly HATE having my child unrestrained in any moving vehicle but your only other choice is to carry along your own carseat everywhere you go and this is just not always feasible.

The only suggestion I can give you is to consider an item like that seen in this link http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.js...DUCT&iMainCat=117&iSubCat=163&iProductID=1363

I purchased one of these for only $20 at a local Wal Mart (you may even be able to find one in Orlando???) for future use in this sort of situation. I don't actually know how well it really works but it is an actual restraint and it is fairly portable.

Hope this helps!

 

[alexandra uk]

Thats surprised me. I thought that by law you wern't allowed to have a child in a car without a proper seat.

67 to go

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

You are correct about US law dictating that children (age depends upon the state you are in) must be in an appropriate restraint (carseat, booster seat etc.) in a privately driven car, truck etc.

However, this does not apply to any form of public transportation. Therefore, taxis, buses, subways, airport shuttles, and even "towncar" services are EXEMPT from the standard laws due to their status as "public transportation." Now, in the case of the "towncar" services you will have some companies that can provide carseats with advance notice but all other forms of public transportation will seldom, if ever, provide any restraints.

As a side note, do taxis and other forms of public transportation in the UK have child restraints? I had never really thought about it being different from country to country so I am just curious

 

[alexandra uk]

In the UK it is law for a child to be restrained in any car.
Cabs won't accept the fare if you do not have a seat. I don't know of any local firms that provide this service, only on one occasion have we used a cab with DS, and we took our own seat.

67 to go

 

[uksaint]

Just for clarification of anyone planning to visit the UK, it is NOT a legal requirement to have a car seat unless the child wishes to travel in the front seat. Children need only be restrained in the rear seat 'if an appropriate restraint is available'

There are EU proposals under consideration which would make the use of car seats compulsory, but taxicabs would still be exempt.

Andy

 

[alexandra uk]

So you can carry your child in the back seat of the car with no seat ?

66 to go

 

[uksaint]

Perhaps surprisingly, YES, children up to 11 years old may be carried unrestrained in the rear seat UNLESS there is an appropriate restraint available. Although as I've said, that legislation is under review. (NOTE: the adult seat belt would be considered 'appropriate' if the child is over 150cm tall.)

Of course, I don't think anybody should carry their child in a car without a proper restraint unless it is absolutely unavoidable.

Andy

 

[DisneyPhD]

Originally posted by akasleepingbeauty

The only suggestion I can give you is to consider an item like that seen in this link http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.js...DUCT&iMainCat=117&iSubCat=163&iProductID=1363

I purchased one of these for only $20 at a local Wal Mart (you may even be able to find one in Orlando???) for future use in this sort of situation. I don't actually know how well it really works but it is an actual restraint and it is fairly portable.

Hope this helps! [/B]

When I saw this I thought it would be a nice answer to my carseat airplane problem, but it said it wasn't aproved for airplanes. Too bad. It would be so nice if airlines ever offered car seats, but I don't see that happening since they don't make any money on the kids.

I wonder what kind of things they will come up with next!!!

 

[mchames]

though more expensive is the Sit 'n Stroll (shown here http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID=239&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=239).

It is FAA approved for airplane travel, works as a stroller and is easy to convert to a carseat and can even be used as a booster seat in restaurants. We have used ours on vacations, especially in places where we knew we would be taking a lot of taxis, like NYC and Las Vegas. It has survived two children and my almost 3yr old DD is just starting to outgrow it.

If you're planning on bringing a stroller anyway, it might be a good option for you.

Mary