To think it's weird to allow babies in arms in cabs

[anonacfr]

Typical celeb clickbait article this morning online.
Chloe Madeley apparently got abuse for posting a picture of her, her partner and their young baby in a black cab.
They're both wearing a seatbelt but he's holding the baby- no baby carrier or restraints.
She was lashing out at people criticising her by telling them it is a perfectly legal thing to do.

Isn't that mega dangerous though? Looking back we always brought our carriers in cabs, or at least (in black cabs) strapped the babies in their buggy and secured said buggy so it couldn't really move.
In these days of health and safety I am just surprised.

Am I a hindsight PFB?

It‘s legal. As is giving a lift to a parent with a babe in arms. Sometimes it will be the best available option, although yes, in the event of a collision there’s be a much greater chance of injury or death.

I assume not every parent needing the occasional taxi either has or can afford a car seat. It's not the safest but the alternative of not allowing parents to travel when needed isn't great either.

I took my baby in a cab in a sling once, arranging the sling to support his head and being aware that my seatbelt mustn’t go across him, as my body would crush his against the seatbelt. It was the safest and best option for him at the time, though I didn’t make a habit of it.

Black cabs are built like tanks, and (in central London at least) are usually stuck in traffic. The potential for a damaging crash must be tiny.

Different if you’re getting A minicab up the motorway.

I think it is legal, but I would never. My brother is a paramedic and he had to take a year off after being first response to a high speed accident where someone had been holding an infant.

He's never gone into graphic detail, but the infant was killed and became a projectile also injuring the mother. Just the mental image of what he probably saw that day turns my blood to ice.

It's legal because not everyone has a car and so not everyone has a car seat. Is it dangerous? Personally I think black cabs are pretty safe.
Strapping a baby in a buggy and putting the brake on is no safer imo - you'd be holding onto the buggy to make sure it didn't tip, which doesn't strike me as hugely different to just holding the baby.

Although it's legal I personally would feel very anxious doing this, in case someone crashed into my taxi.

Each to their own risk though.

If you don’t have a car, you may still need to take your baby places. Sure it’s not ideal but where would you be able to store a car seat if you don’t have a travel system? Do you have to carry the thing with you the entire time? It’s just not practical sometimes.

1. It’s legal
2. It’s entirely impractical to think non-drivers can carry a car seat everywhere they go in case they need a taxi without notice
3. It’s unreasonable to think non-drivers can all afford car seats etc that they will almost never use
4. Most cab rides are at a much slower speed that the average car journey due to the nature of city driving etc
5. Cab drivers are professionals who drive for a living, know the area well and won’t be risking being under the influence or speeding - they’re far less likely to crash on a journey than a non-professional driver.
6. Safety-wise, I’d imagine being held by Hask is pretty much as secure as your average car seat.
7. This wasn’t raised as a genuine issue of safety - it was just an excuse to kick a woman for living her life. Demonstrated by the criticism of Chloe as the woman/mother even though she’s not the only parent there and she’s not the one even holding the baby.

It is legal indeed, I just find it so scary! With a young baby I'd keep the sling on rather than just hold baby.
I find that the older i get the more I go through potential risks in my head.

Its legal for practicality reasons rather than because its safe.

Yanbu. It's incredibly weird, I've never understood why it isn't changed.
See also, taxi drivers never used to have to wear seat belts. Not sure if that's even changed now.

Totally legal but not something I would chose to do. I used to get the black cabs with DTs in the buggy.

Taxi drivers don’t have to wear belts to allow them quick exit if they get attacked from behind by a passenger.

Looking back we always brought our carriers in cabs, or at least (in black cabs) strapped the babies in their buggy and secured said buggy so it couldn't really move.

I think we did as well - and with older toddlers as had them close together - have a bump seat if possible not always and use lap belts only -which we checked was the safest thing to do.

We got a travel system with one baby carry that could best secured in with seat belts - however we rarely used baby seat part - the pushchair part was used to destruction - because you can not have baby in them long so days out often wouldn't take and it was a huge thing to lug round in not set up as travel seat.

We did try and avoid taxis with babies and toddlers but we don't drive and sometimes they are best.

However they weren't wrong it is legal for very practical reasons.

That it continues to be legal is bizarre.

She was lashing out at people criticising her by telling them it is a perfectly legal thing to do.

Lashing out? Do you write for the Daily Mail? Stating the law isn't lashing out.

Presuming this is traffic choked central London with top speed of 20mph if you’re lucky then I don’t see how it’s really any different to a bus. That said, I’ve never done it; mine stay in their prams with the brake on.

It’s perfectly legal. It looks to be in London, so likely moving at a snails pace and as a pp said they are built like tanks. I don’t see a need for a car seat in this situation, especially when James Haskell is holding her who is built like a tank himself.

I do agree with her post, I really disapprove of mothers shaming or judging other mothers for their choices. Which is effectively what you’re doing.

as she said, she is best placed to make decisions on her child. Not you and not the woman abusing her on insta.

Babies don't go in car seats on buses either. No seatbelts to secure them. Luckily they (the buses not the babies) rarely go above 20mph round here.

I'm sure doctors and coronors would be telling people if there was a massive problem with this. When you think about it there is probably only a very tiny percentage higher risk of holding a baby in a taxi, than holding a baby and walking down the street.

You can stand down, Chloe Madeley isn’t asking for your risk assessment.

And Lap baby on planes is the dangerous one and should be banned. Any turbulence and thr kid is hitting the roof.

hopping a black cab in London and your massive fucking husband holding her is as low risk as it gets.

Yep it's weird but you do need to have some legal option to get from A to B with a baby (when there's no public transport) that doesn't require you to have a car seat with you.

I've travelled in a minicab with a 15 month old on my lap - we were discharged from A&E at midnight having gone there in an ambulance. It was really scary but there was no other way home as no one could come pick us up.

Personally it's not something I'd do unless there was literally no other option though!

So she responds on social media asking people to butt out of her parenting decisions and you post a thread condemning her parenting decisions.

She's took her baby in a cab, in a perfectly legal manner. It's no one's business. If you wouldn't do it, great, but she's done nothing illegal (and therefore the dvla must deem it safe enough) so what's the problem?

We were given a lift by a police man after breaking down and ds2 (19m at the time) had to sit on my knee in the back, at the police officers suggestions instead of getting his car seat out of my car to put it in the police car and then me have to lug him, his car seat and DS1 about with me while we waited for DH to catch up after the breakdown had finished.