To wonder why babies can travel in taxis carseat free?

[FroggyPop]

Just that really - there is so much legislation on carseats. I know I paid a lot extra to get a carseat that could keep my DD rear facing for a lot longer as research told me that was safer.

So im just wondering how a baby of any age can sit on a knee in the back of the car and be deemed as safe - I know people did this all the time years ago but surely recent research has disproved this?

Why should I pay £80+ to stay in a hotel, when I live 10 mins away from town, I'm not made of money!

I used to work for a cab company, most will supply a car seat if you ask them, but they do charge, I bought my kids home in a taxi without car seats but that was 19 and 16 years ago. We don't have a car never had when they were babies we would get a black cab and leave them in the pram, don't know if that was any safer than being on my lap. I think he risk is very low of anything happening sometimes you just have to things that are not ideal.

I did ask them teens but I could not find a local one that did or I would have pad a bit extra

I suppose it depends where you are we are in London loads round here will supply them.

No I'm in Milton Keynes so mabey local firms are not up to parr

Also dd des not like hotels so would be one continuous meltdown

It is practicality. Many taxi firms will supply a car seat (or store yours after the journey) if you have pre-booked a longish journey (eg to an airport) but the taxis will not carry them around in their car-boots just in case someone needs them since this takes up boot/car capacity that other people may require for their purposes (eg for shopping other luggage etc). DH would also say that you are safer in a taxi becuase they are more experienced drivers - he's a taxi driver funnily enough!

DS came home from hospital unrestrained in a taxi (20 minute walk vs. 5 minute journey in taxi) - we had no car, no plan to get a car, no need for a car and no space to store a car seat.

Sure, DP could have carried him home while I went in the cab, but lets weigh up the relative risks of a 20 minute walk for an exhausted new dad, crossing at least 6 roads vs. a slow, within town taxi ride.

With DS2 we have a car, but I'm going to leave the seat bucked in the car - I'm certainly not lugging it around the hospital just to prove I have it!

Exactly you have to weigh up your options and rissand ake a decision tats best for you and your family, making a one off taxi journey or accepting a one off lift from someone is fine

The hospital can't prevent you from leaving without a car seat. All they could theoretically do would be to call the cops if they knew you were driving your own car home with no car seat. However, if in a taxi you are completely within the law so they'd have to just step aside.

In Australia they do legally need to be in car seats. An ex-colleague's daughter had a baby in Australia and one day she got caught out in a rain storm without a car seat (obviously - who just carries one around?) and had to take a taxi home, three taxis refused and the last one let her but insisted she put the baby on the floor! Surely that's worse?

As other people have said, taxis are usually one-off journeys, often emergencies, or at least unplanned, or they bridge a gap between parts of a journey which you don't need a car seat for and it would be impractical to bring one.

Until they invent car seats which are built in to cars it won't be the law (and I think this is right, even if it does mean there are loopholes)

And sorry bababa, but I don't believe you unless you mean the blow up ones. It's physically impossible to carry 3 full size car seats, let alone carry them around all day and presumably be in charge of 3+ children!

Exactly yoni, carrying one britax evolva impossible whist pushing a buggy and holding other chids hand, 2 evolves noway

You could probably manage a baby in a travel system and two booster seats if you had one under one and two over 4ish. But what if you have one that needs to be in a stage 1 seat? No way you can carry even one of those around.