Uber with no car seat for 2 year old

[EmeraldDC]

Ideally I need to get an Uber or taxi today without a car seat for me, friend and 2 year old DC. I can't work out the rules. The Gov.uk website suggests one isn't needed but it isn't overly clear. Nor is it on Ubers website. Can any one enlightened me?

The gov website is very clear.

In most cases, children under 3 must always be in a child car seat.

The rules are different if:
• the child is in a taxi or minicab

You don’t need a car seat.

You don't need one legally in a taxi but your child will have no protection if anything happens. The taxi rule is supposed to be for emergency use only really, like if you needed to get them to A&E or you're stranded, then the risk is more worth it.

www.uber.com/en-GB/blog/uber-with-kids-guidelines/#:~:text=Uber%20car%20seats&text=If%20you%20are%20planning%20on,they're%203%20or%20older.

Legally you don't need a car seat in a taxi but physics still applies souks you be involved in an accident.

This. The rules are there for a reason. If it’s not an emergency, you are expected to take a car seat or find a different way to travel, because travelling without a car seat is high risk for your child. The probability of an accident is low, but if an accident of any kind occurs, the consequences for your child would be much, much more serious without an appropriate car seat.

I didn't know whether Uber imposed their own rules. We'll walk. It will do us good

Actually the taxi rule isn't for emergencies; there's an exception that applies to all vehicles for emergencies like that - (If the journey is: unexpected. necessary. over a short distance. It needs to be all 3 to count.)

The taxi rule is just for practicality. Car seats particularly in the toddler stage are bulky to carry around or store in the taxi, plus it's too complicated to work out who should be responsible if a child is not using the correct seat in that situation. (In a private car, it's the driver.)

It's true that the child will have no protection if you were to crash but the exception is made because the chances of a crash happening during an occasional taxi trip are very low so it's a low risk, high stakes kind of thing.

I thought Maxi Cosi were doing some kind of deal with Uber where they provided their Nomad car seat if you book it as an option.