Taxi travel, booster seat or on you lap? What's safer for a 2 year old?

[Clara1989]

We are going away and won't have the car. We have never done the on the lap in a taxi thing and are quite nervous about it.

Our little one is 2 and I'm trying to figure out if a trunki boostaseat would be safer than having her on our lap. It's rated from 15kg and I think she is only around 13 currently.

P.s feasibly not going to be able to cart a car seat.around.

Thoughts?

Sorry, but at 2 years she needs to be in a proper car seat. The trunki seat is a glorified cushion and she’s much too young to be using the 3 point car seat belt alone. You need to reconsider taking a proper car seat.

Small children can travel on laps as a concession to practicality not because its safe.

I have taken my small son in a taxi a few times without a seat (because we went into hospital unexpectedly with an ambulance and were discharged in the middle of the night, sometimes without shoes so no other realistic options and it’s legal where we live).
I remember googling while waiting for the taxi and finding several sites saying that using a separate belt for him was safer than putting him on an adult’s lap so perhaps look into that.

Neither of those options will be anywhere near good enough. Where are you going and how far will you need to travel in a taxi?

Well legally you can do it but it's very unsafe. I'd look at basically any alternative e.g. bus or coach. Train. Walking. Crawling on your belly...

Maybe you could look into getting something like this to transport the car seat...

https://amzn.eu/d/78kEKrK

If you do decide to travel with him in your lap make sure he remains unrestrained. The seat belt should only go round you.

Would something like this work?

https://amzn.eu/d/j6GteMP

It has a proper harness and folds up into a bag for transport. Obviously not as good as a “proper” car seat, but better than unrestrained.

Check the law, under 3’s must be in car seats apart from black / hackney carriage type taxis with a divider. Public transport is far better

Whatever you do, do NOT put the seatbelt around him on your lap.

Personally at this age I went with a trunki booster seat. Not ideal but better than being unrestrained I felt.

It's any type of taxi or minicab:
Taxis and minicabs (private hire vehicles)
If the driver does not provide the correct child car seat, children can travel without one - but only if they travel on a rear seat:

• and wear an adult seat belt if they’re 3 or older
• without a seat belt if they’re under 3

Thanks all but no one has actually answered my question or given an opinion on the which option is preferable.

P.s I have obviously considered all the above or I wouldn't have posted

What makes a bus/ coach safer?

I often think this when I’m on the bus. It feels so unsafe! Why is it considered safer?

It's all about probabilities and what risks you feel comfortable taking. Yes, if there were an accident, it would be unsafe, but you can choose to take that risk because you might think that the chance of having an accident is very low, especially if you are not taking frequent or long journeys. My view on the original question is that the trunki booster will be no safer for a child that is too small than not having anything at all, so you might as well just put her on your lap.

Just 2 or nearly 3? Mine is 2 and has been fine with a booster in a pinch but he's big and our booster holds the seatbelt in the right place for his body which is the really important bit.

I don’t think anyone can answer that question really because neither is safe. I assume you’ve contacted all the local taxi companies to see if any can provide a seat if you pre book and it’s a no? If you’re determined to do this and not take a proper car seat then honestly I’d make convenience the deciding factor and go with no car seat at all. If you’ll change your mind then I would look at the maxi cosi nomad for a toddler travel seat. But 2 things to consider- if this is a black cab there’s a 3rd option where DC cab stay strapped in the pram with the brake applied and if this isn’t in the UK then it might not actually be legal to travel without a car seat so you might want to look that up.

Probably that you’re more protected by a bigger vehicle, it’s professional driver (that applies to taxis too) and in the case of a bus it makes frequent stops and travels slower.

Well I think on your lap would be the least safe. So you can either use a booster or not, the advantage of the booster is that it repositions the strap slightly, but obviously still not to the right position for a two year old, so neither of those options is safe. But they don't have the added danger of being hit by your weight as well in an accident.

https://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/car-seats/nomad-plus

We’ve just used this while abroad for our 2 1/2 year old, folded up nicely and we were able to clip it onto the back of the stroller to carry it around when we were out.

Don’t compromise your child’s safety just because you’re on holiday. It doesn’t change the risks and if anything, in some countries the risks are higher.

You can buy foldable/packable boosters seats. Just bite the bullet and carry one with you.

If you were to heaven forbid have an accident you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself knowing your child was dead or injured for life just because you couldn’t be bothered to carry an extra bag.

@Clara1989 I think it depends a lot on how long the taxi journey is, and how much of the trip you are planning to be spending travelling in cars?

For a short, low speed airport transfer I would risk it without, personally.

Nothing is guaranteed though. I've been alive over 70 years, been a driver for over 50 years, been a passenger in cars for 60 odd years. The only time I've ended up in hospital after an accident was as a bus passenger. It was a car driver that caused it but I was upstairs on the bus and catapulted down the stairs and had a week in hospital, not as an old lady this was over 40 years ago. Concussion and back injury heaven knows how a baby would have been.

Neither is safe. You need to reconsider your plans.

Being a much larger vehicle and fundamentally less likely to crash in the first place.