Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Taxi journey 5-10 min - car seat needed?

103 replies

LaVitesse2022 · 25/08/2023 18:58

Hi all,

Due in a couple of months and thinking about logistics after birth. We live very close to maternity and I've been walking or taking the bus to my midwife appointments. Ideally we'll get the bus home from hospital after the birth but obviously not sure what state I'll be in. We may need a taxi, in which case it'll be a 5-10 min ride home.

I know by law it's not required in these circumstances - so AIBU to not wanting to get a car seat just for that hypothetical and very short drive home? I know accidents happen even in short rides, but it does look like a very small risk.

For context, we don't own a car and live in a small flat in London so I'm not keen on getting stuff unless absolutely necessary.

No hateful comments please, just interested in what other people would do in this situation, particularly ones who have been in similar circumstances.

OP posts:
Mrsphilmiller · 25/08/2023 18:59

They won’t let you leave the hospital without a car seat (is what I’ve heard through the years)

Caspianberg · 25/08/2023 19:00

Everyone I know in London uses black cabs with babies and toddlers in pram. Just wheel in and keep baby inside pram.

BoohooWoohoo · 25/08/2023 19:01

Some taxi companies have car seats that you can borrow for the journey. Might take some research but well worth it for the one off.

Caspianberg · 25/08/2023 19:02

And of course they let you leave hospital. Our newborn car seat was a fixed swivel that stayed in car. I just popped newborn Ds in sling and walked out hospital fine to our parked car, before putting him in. Nobody ever asked about car seat or came with us to car.

bryceQ · 25/08/2023 19:02

We bought a car seat for this.

You could also get a black cab via gett app and wheel pram in

Fotophrame · 25/08/2023 19:02

If you've been walking that distance, is it reasonable for someone else to bring the baby home in the pram, while you get in the taxi?

Oysterbabe · 25/08/2023 19:03

Do you know anyone who can lend you one or give you a lift? I'd be very wary of taking a brand new baby in a car without a seat.

Doggymummar · 25/08/2023 19:03

Can dad wheel bABY home and you cab it?

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 25/08/2023 19:04

I wouldn't say 5-10 minutes was a particularly short journey when there's a newborn baby involved.

I would buy/borrow a car seat if possible.

Clefable · 25/08/2023 19:04

No way would I take a newborn in a car without a car seat. You can get a Joie Juva for £50 if you're not going to use it much. But taxis are not any less likely to crash than cars, and even a fairly low speed bump with an unsecured newborn could be very damaging.

Just sell the seat after if you aren't going to use it again.

Original poster
LaVitesse2022 · 25/08/2023 19:05

@Fotophrame and @Doggymummar I hadn't thought about that option, thanks for suggesting it. It's a half-hour walk, so might be doable, depending on the weather.

OP posts:
EnglishRose1320 · 25/08/2023 19:05

I personally wouldn't go in a taxi without one, but I don't think you have to buy one either.

I'd either

  1. Get dad to walk home with the baby whilst you get a cab.
  1. Borrow a car seat from a friend.
  1. Hire a car seat.
MidnightOnceMore · 25/08/2023 19:08

I'd buy a car seat if possible as you may need one again, for example if you need to get to the doctor's, health visitor or hospital. You can get cheap ones.

I'd be wary without one in a taxi with a newborn as even braking could jolt them. They're pretty terrifyingly vulnerable at the very start.

nocoolnamesleft · 25/08/2023 19:13

You don't legally have to. But having looked after a neonate who was unsecured in a relatively low speed car crash, I would strongly recommend it.

GRex · 25/08/2023 19:15

We walked DS home from hospital. If I wasn't up to it, DH was going to walk him. It was really cold but sunny, so it was a decent excuse with the midwives to get the paperwork done quickly so we could leave in the light before it got even colder outside. If that doesn't work, you could get a newborn car seat for about £15 on Facebook marketplace. There isn't much market for used seats, so they go cheaply. Just checked and there are two on offer for free near me, plus a few at £15. You can sell on again afterwards or upgrade to a bigger seat for emergency journeys, just store the seat behind your sofa and get a foldable booster once the baby is a small child.

DillyDallyingAllDay · 25/08/2023 19:16

Personally think it would be far more traumatic for your newborn to be put into a car seat and then removed for a quick car ride. I'd go with the flow- hold baby, leave in a pushchair if that's an option/take the bus/walk- whatever works- and I wouldn't be purchasing a car seat for a 5min journey

StillWantingADog · 25/08/2023 19:18

EnglishRose1320 · 25/08/2023 19:05

I personally wouldn't go in a taxi without one, but I don't think you have to buy one either.

I'd either

  1. Get dad to walk home with the baby whilst you get a cab.
  1. Borrow a car seat from a friend.
  1. Hire a car seat.

Yep one of the above.
or bus?

SushiSuave · 25/08/2023 19:18

Fotophrame · 25/08/2023 19:02

If you've been walking that distance, is it reasonable for someone else to bring the baby home in the pram, while you get in the taxi?

This seems the most sensible/safest option to me.

TropicalTrama · 25/08/2023 19:22

You’re in London? With black cabs? Then you just wheel the pram into the back and apply the break exactly like you’d do on the bus. No need for a car seat. I think the above replies are thinking minicab ie a normal car. I’d strongly recommend a pram with straps for newborn though like the YoYo with the newborn nest as it’ll pay off for tube escalators and bumping on/off the bus.

TropicalTrama · 25/08/2023 19:23

Oh and to add that’s how mine came home from the hospital!

Original poster
LaVitesse2022 · 25/08/2023 19:30

@TropicalTrama yes, I'm in London so could get a black cab and wheel the pram in. Not sure if much different in safety terms to carrying the newborn in a sling and the backseat of a regular car though, hence my dilemma.

Really appreciate everyone's suggestions. I hadn't thought about me taking a cab while dad takes baby on bus/walk, which sounds like the safest/best. I'll still consider if worth purchasing car seat for the odd drive though

OP posts:
hartuiyt · 25/08/2023 19:32

Agree with a buggy in the back of a black cab. We had a lie flat buggy from birth for DC1 when coming home, as prams are too bulky to carry down tube steps single hhanded.

By the time DC2 came we had a baby car seat which we'd got for DC1 when we went on holiday. I know you'd rarely use a car seat in London, but if you'd ever use one between birth-15m, (for holidays or visiting gps) you might as well get it from birth to get the most use out of it.

Digimoor · 25/08/2023 19:57

In London they don't check you have a car seat. Black cab is a good option with the pram as others have suggested

Garman · 25/08/2023 20:05

DillyDallyingAllDay · 25/08/2023 19:16

Personally think it would be far more traumatic for your newborn to be put into a car seat and then removed for a quick car ride. I'd go with the flow- hold baby, leave in a pushchair if that's an option/take the bus/walk- whatever works- and I wouldn't be purchasing a car seat for a 5min journey

Traumatic? To go in a car seat? What are you on about? Yet you'd go in a car with a brand new baby holding it in your arms like it's 1922 and there's 3 cars on the road going 5km? Yes far better and less traumatic to risk crushing or injuring the baby. Cop on to yourself!

Timmytap18 · 25/08/2023 20:09

Pram and back cab