City parents and carseats

melmax

since we're discussing carseats:

What do you do when you take a cab?  Do you actually lug your Britax, etc/infant seat and install it inside the waiting cab?

My mom and sis live in NYC and I visit every 6-8 weeks. I *JUST* for the first time, took the kids in a cab without any carseats.  I was uneasy the entire ride, but it was WAAY easier getting 2 kids around the city than the subways.

gracendantho26

Dude! The way cab drivers drive there I want to be in a 5pt harness. Scary!

In all seriousness though that is a conundrum.

melmax

gracendantho26:

Dude! The way cab drivers drive there I want to be in a 5pt harness. Scary!

In all seriousness though that is a conundrum.

Grace--that's why I was so uneasy, they're like maniacs!

Vrbka

I personally wouldn't bother with the carseats.. as then you will have to lug them around with you when you get out of the cab.. just hold on to them really hard.. you will be fine.. i don't live in a city but i sure wouldn't mess with the carseat crap if i went to a big city like new york city..

JOEBunny

I took DS to San Francisco last week and we road in a cab without a car seat.  We were in the city and the cab does not go very fast in traffic.  It is not very often and it is short distances at mostly slow speeds, which is why the law does not make you install them.  You could always take the bus or subway if you wanted.  I do that a lot at home.

DevonPow

We usually take the subway or walk everywhere,  but on the very rare occurence we needed to take a cab with DS we did not use a car seat.

penguingrrl

I live in NYC (Manhattan) and have not taken either of my kids in a cab ever because I won't have them not in a carseat.  We either drive (we have decent on street parking in our neighborhood, so we have a car) or take the subway in a pinch.  I don't do buses either because I can't keep the kids in the stroller and I just don't feel safe having them on the bus without a stroller, seatbelt, anything in the event of a crash (which seems likely with the way cabs drive lol!).

goodheartedmommy

PP--you realize that "holding onto them very hard" is not going to do anything in a crash, right? Let's do some basic physics here. At 25 mph, it would take 250 lbs of force to hold a 10 lb baby.

I'm not sure what I would do in the situation, but I am pointing out that in virtually any crash, it would be impossible to hold onto the baby. OP--I would suggest wearing the youngest baby at least, and getting a saferider travel vest for the older child. 

gracendantho26

Oh my gosh cab drivers in San Francisco versus New York are like night and day. In San Francisco they don't haul a$$ down crowded streets and make hugely abrupt stops.

goodheartedmommy

penguingrrl:

I live in NYC (Manhattan) and have not taken either of my kids in a cab ever because I won't have them not in a carseat.  We either drive (we have decent on street parking in our neighborhood, so we have a car) or take the subway in a pinch.  I don't do buses either because I can't keep the kids in the stroller and I just don't feel safe having them on the bus without a stroller, seatbelt, anything in the event of a crash (which seems likely with the way cabs drive lol!).

Oh, and I don't know anything about subway safety--but buses are much safer than car travel. Seatbelts are not recommended on a bus because the danger in a bus crash is fire--quick evacuation is necessary. A bus is going to come to a stop much slower in a crash--meaning that the force you would experience in a car crash is not going to be there.  Taking the bus would be preferable over a cab without a carseat (or a cab with an improperly installed carseat).

emiliemadison

Vrbka:

I personally wouldn't bother with the carseats.. as then you will have to lug them around with you when you get out of the cab.. just hold on to them really hard.. you will be fine.. i don't live in a city but i sure wouldn't mess with the carseat crap if i went to a big city like new york city..

If that's all it took, then why bother with carseats in ANY car in ANY city?

OP: Cabs are still cars and it's just as important to use a car seat as it is to use one in your own car.  If possible, try not to use a cab and utilize the subway instead. If that's not possible and you must use a cab, you can install the seat in the cab. You'll just want to practice installing it with a seatbelt at home first to get it down. And dont let the cabbie rush you. Insist they wait (with the meter running, if it helps) while you properly install the seat.