No carseat in a taxi?

[starling&diesel]

We're going to Vegas for my mom's 65th birthday, so I'm researching all that entails.  There is no law that a child be restrained in a taxi in the state of Nevada.  Is this the case everywhere?  Do people do this with no compunction? 

What do you all do about carseats when you're traveling?  Why do I think a bus is okay, but not a taxi?

Help me sort this out?  Thanks, mamas! 

[ChristyMarie]

I don't know what others do but this is why we rent a car or drive ourselves.  I'm not yet comfortable taking DS (4) in a taxi without a seat.

In Vegas (depending on where you are staying) you can take the monorail.  Valet parking is usually free.

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by starling&diesel 

We're going to Vegas for my mom's 65th birthday, so I'm researching all that entails.  There is no law that a child be restrained in a taxi in the state of Nevada.  Is this the case everywhere?  Do people do this with no compunction? 

What do you all do about carseats when you're traveling?  Why do I think a bus is okay, but not a taxi?

Help me sort this out?  Thanks, mamas! 

It has been the case where we have travelled.    In the cities, we have always used taxis without a carseat.  We travelled into the city by train and didn't take a seat on the train.  Rightly or wrongly, I did this under the thinking that we were travelling slowly in mostly stop and go traffic so the danger wasnt' as great as say travelling down an interstate at 70 miles an hour. 

Maybe you can do some research as to what type of taxi to expect.  If it is a mini-van or large passenger van, take a seat along.  When we travelled in Mexico and the Carribean, these types of vehicles were the normal for transportation in the tourist areas and I did take a seat on those trips.

[maryeliz]

We are car free in a city so we do the taxi thing every now and again.  We always use a car seat in taxis, but secure it with the seat belt rather than a latch.  I don't use a car seat on the city bus, and I think bus without a car seat is probably safer than taxi with a belted car seat.  It is my understanding that buses are engineered to protect passengers in a crash in ways that cars are not, also buses are just bigger and less likely to suffer some kind of catastrophic event.

[TheGirls]

Busses are much safer than cars, we do not use carseats on busses (plus there's no seatbelt - how would you attach it?)  However I would NOT be comfortable using a taxi without a seat.  You can, and should install a carseat in a taxi if you are using one, even if it is legal to go without.  Mostly this means I just avoid taxis.  In Las Vegas (I went with my then-2yo last year) that is extremely easy to do if you're staying anywhere on the strip or on Fremont street.   There's the monorail, there's a bus that runs up and down the strip, there's a bus that runs to fremont st, there's a bus that takes you from the airport directly to your hotel....

We didn't use her seat even once in Las Vegas, nor were we even tempted to take a cab.

When we left the city to do other things (grand canyon, etc), we rented a car, and used her carseat then. 

[starling&diesel]

Interesting replies, thanks!  I wonder about the shuttles ... you know, those smaller 'bus' type vehicles that run between the airport and the hotels.  Any thoughts on those?  When we traveled in Costa Rica, we went on those with no carseat and then used a car with a carseat.  We do a lot of traveling, so I need to wrap my head around this for sure. 

I appreciate everyone's experience.  Thanks! 

[Lucy Alden]

Not sure how much your DD weighs but, travel vests have good crash test ratings and are way more convenient than a car seat.

[GoGoGirl]

We live in NYC and don't own a car, so sometimes take taxis.  It's legal here to have a child/infant in a taxi with no car seat.  We try to avoid it though!  Most of our cab rides are long, planned trips (to the airport, or to the Bronx Zoo) so for those times we definitely use a car seat.  Every once in a while, we end up in a tricky situation where we decide to take an unexpected, short cab ride (toddler freak out at Trader Joes, need to get home faster than we could walk a mile with a screaming toddler and groceries).  I feel guilt-ridden and terrified whenever this happens, so I just try to minimize it.

For your Vegas trip, I'd look into how often you would be in taxis.  How are you getting to and from the airport?  If it's a long trip in a cab, I would definitely take the car seat.  You can always leave it in the hotel the rest of the time, but at least you would have it for those long (highway!) trips.  I know it's hard work to bring the car seat, but I think I would probably bring it, just in case a situation arose where I would definitely want it.   Then if you decide to do any day trips, or any kind of longer drive, you won't be kicking yourself for not having it.

[zebra15]

Ive been to vegas many times and honestly most times never went further than walking distance from the hotel so Im assuming you need the taxi to get you to/from the airport?

Everyone walks in vegas!

[TheGirls]

There are shuttle busses that pick up at the airport and go to all of the major hotels.  They are very reasonably priced and run frequently, you can pick one up right outside the airport.  There's a desk there where you go and tell them your hotel, they sell you  a ticket (exact price depending on which hotel, but usually around $10). 

They are sized more like a city bus, much larger than the vans that some airports use for shuttles.   They hold something like 20-25people plus luggage. 

[JudiAU]

It is legal in most places but just as dangerous as your regular car. We never, ever do it. We either take another form of public transportation (bus, train) or take the car seats with us. If we are going somewhere with pretty good public transportation then we don't rent a car. Cities with poor public transporation (Vegas) require a car rental.

[Altair]

I'm in NYC too (Hi GogoGirl!) ;-)

we do have a car here to avoid this problem in general, but there have been times we've had to take a taxi without a seat (for example, we're far from home to walk or bus and we go down to take the subway only to realize it's being re-routed and won't take us home).  So for a very rare event, it doesn't worry me too much.  If I were traveling in Vegas and mostly walking I'd just try to get a shuttle to the airport. 

Then again, I have taken our seat on every trip so far and we bought a lightweight one (scenera) for just this purpose because it is *so* light.  And when he was in his infant seat it was so easy to have the seat since it could be attached to the stroller. 

[leighi123]

If you wouldn't put a child in your own car without a carseat, why would you do it in a taxi?   Just because its legal, doesn't change the laws of physics.   Its legal in Florida for my 27lb 3yr old to ride in my car in just a seatbelt in the front seat.  Safe?  Nope.  

Speed, traffic, the road you are traveling on don't make any difference.  An unrestrained child can die or get badly injured even in a minor crash and that could happen any time, any where.  

A bus is a different matter altogether, crash dynamics are different and they are designed to protect passengers without restraints. In addition, statistics show that busses are FAR less likely to get in a crash, and crashes they do get into are less serious. 

 Cars are designed to protect properly restrained people, and a taxi sign on the roof doesn't make it safe to go without a carseat under any condition. 

There are options for those who live in cities where they will be taking lots of public transport - heigher weight limit infant seats that strap to strollers, a couple convertible seats that attach to strollers, travel vests, and for older kids, backless boosters that can be easily carried.  

Or take a bus, train, subway, bike, walk, or stay home.  In Vegas they even have rick-shaw things pulled by bike to ride in, and some monarail things between some of the hotels.  I'd do any of those before putting my kid in a taxi without a carseat. 

[Altair]

That's not so easy in practice for people who live in NYC with no car.  We make up for it by hardly ever riding in cars, thus overall reducing the risk of that once a year quick cab ride with no carseat. 

[GoGoGirl]

Originally Posted by Altair 

That's not so easy in practice for people who live in NYC with no car.  We make up for it by hardly ever riding in cars, thus overall reducing the risk of that once a year quick cab ride with no carseat. 

  We don't use a stroller (we either babywear or DD walks) so even a car seat that somehow attaches to a stroller wouldn't be helpful for us.  I know it's not safe, but there's really just no practical way I can drag a car seat around everywhere we go, every single day, on the off chance we need to take a taxi. 

[ellemenope]

I was ok with it in manhattan. I don't think I would be in Vegas. I have been in taxis many times in both cities. I will say that for airport to resort rides we use the super light cosco serena which retails for 40 dollars. In Vegas we have gotten around superbly by the buses.