To think taxis are exempt from car seats can't be right?

[gobblegobs]

The background: bring DS over on an 8 hr flight. Dragged a baby car seat with me from our home away from home as was not sure cab company will have one in his size. He is 18 weeks and still has a wobbly head. Had pre booked a cab home from heathrow from a reputable taxi firm.
The cab driver, ever so lovely helps me with the luggage and then pops the car seat in the boot too. I do point out we need to use it, hence my effort in bringing it over. He retorts that taxis are exempt from having a child in a car seat. I am a bit . I do insist on fixing the seat which he grudgingly makes a half hearted effort to.I try and explain about unstable necks etc, he carries on mumbling the law states babies just need to be restrained ie held by mum.
He then gives up and I fix the seat with DS hangigng in the sling.
He is otherwise helpful but I did wonder if the law did actually exempt cabs from having a baby seat.I can may be, if it comes it understand a child being suitably restrained but a newborn(ish)?

Yes I believe they are exempt.

Yes it's true but I don't understand why a car is a car!!

Yes it's correct. How would you transport a toddler seat with you when you were going on a five minute journey in a cab?

DH is taxi owner and yes they are exempt BUT only if seat not available if a parent has a seat he uses it when I did the taxi's with him when ours where little and we knew a young child was on a lengthy journey I'd pop the seat out of my car for them to use.

Figgy because taxi's can't store the seats for every situation not all firms have offices many one-man operations in the business.

the law does state that they don'tneed to be used in cabs... but your driver seems to have taken this as meaning that they shouldn't be, which is totally incorrect. you should always use one if you possibly can.

he is also wrong about having a baby on your lap. if you do not have a car seat available then baby is safer on the seat next to you with an adult belt round them as best you can. if you have a baby on your lap and had a head-on collision you would be thrown forward, potentially crushing the baby

Backpack boosters are only for over 4 s though and they often have one of those knocking around in the boot anyway as they are really cheap and don't have the worry so much of internal breakage etc.

I think ideally a child would be in a seat but realistically its not always going to be practical to have a car seat.

When we used a taxi company for the trip to the airport we made sure we booked one which would take the car seats and store them for the return trip but thats not as easy if its a taxt trip to go shopping or something.

here is a link to the law.

it states that:
"In a licensed taxi or licensed hire car, if a child restraint is not available then the child may travel unrestrained in the rear. This is the only exception for children under 3, and has been introduced for practical rather than safety reasons. You should always think about ways to make sure that a child seat is available."

They are exempt, but where my oh works you can pre book a child seat. They a have a supply of booster seats and a couple of baby/toddler seats at the office and fit them to the car.

I always use a bucket style carseat when travelling with a baby upto about 16 months and have never had a grumble. TBH, I would expect to be challenged if I tried to hold a 4 month old in a taxi! I do only use a booster from then on but limit taxi trips a lot more until 3/4 years old.

I never knew that! I understand the logistics etc but still think it is completely mad! I would have insisted the car seat was used too,

Wonder if insurance could be a factor, you know, if he's worried about fitting it incorrectly or something.

Taxis are exempt, as are cars travelling short distances, I believe.
This means that, if need be, those of us who do not have cars can, on occasion, get a taxi/lift when it is pissing rain or when toddler is too exhausted to walk any more.
I often use a polystyrene booster thingy, which is biggish but very light weight, or a seatbelt clip from Halfords, which makes the seat belt fit a child.
It's not ideal, but if the law was changed the carless would be even more disadvantaged.

They are exempt, but he shouldn't have tried to put it in the boot when you clearly had one.

I don't think he was being unreasonable to not fit it for you though. TBH, I don't even know how our car seat is fitted as DH has always done it. It will be much safer for you to have fitted it as you are used to it.

What should happen is that all taxis should be required to have a booster/baby car seat in the boot at all times. Why they don't is beyond me.

Nowthen - because people often have shopping and things that need to go in the boot therefore them carrying at least 2 car seats would be impractical. Let alone getting into the need to change the straps for each different child getting into the seat.

Not just taxis that are exempt. Any unplanned or one off journey with no seat available is exempt.

Maybe it was more him fitting it that was the problem. I would expect to fit my own car seat - tbh I wouldn't trust someone else not familiar with the car seat to do it anyway.

Oh, and I did once take DS in a car without a seat, simply because it was safer than the alternative. We'd broken down at the side of a very busy road and were offered a lift home by a very kind stranger who saw me struggling up the embankment with DS. I refused to get in his van alone without DH [paranoid smiley] and there wouldn't have been room for both of us and the seat so we took the very quick decision to hold him between us, get home and then send DH back to wait for a mechanic.

I'm not sure if that was legal or not, but I had my speech mentally prepared in case a police officer asked!

Some taxi companies do have car seats at their main offices which you can use if you prebook and they are available at the time.
Some taxis have built in booster type car seats in some of their seats, often the middle seat in the rear.

But it would be impractical for all taxis to carry car seats as it would be costly and it would also take up too much boot space. They'd need to carry 3 different types of seats - baby seat, high back and a booster cushion.

If all taxis had to have infant and toddler carseats available we'd soon have a new thread: 'AIBU to think if I book a taxi there should be room for my shopping/luggage/train set [delete as appropriate] and the boot shouldn't be full of carseats?'

They don't have to be used in cabs. Otherwise when the train broke down and they accommodated all the passengers in taxis then we'd have been stuck in the middle of nowhere...

However I suspect if you had a car seat and chose not to use it in a cab then the police wouldn't be impressed. I think if you've got a suitable car seat and a place to put it you have to use it.

I didn't know this & am a bit tbh