Taxis and child seats

[dudette]

I recently visited a friend in another city and was surprised to discover that none of the taxis there carried car seats for babies. Now, considering the legislation regarding carrying children in vehicles, how does this affect taxi drivers carrying small children?
Luckily as my child is just over 9 months, I took her carry-on car seat, but what happens when she's older? If we do get pulled over by the police who will have to pay any fine, the parent or the driver?

Who else has had to use a taxi, and what was your experience?

[Jemlet]

The law doesn't actually say you have to have a car seat for your child - it says something along the lines of children should be suitably restrained and a car seat should be used if available. This is how taxi drivers get around it.

[Icecub]

I must admit to being guilty of this.......although i might add my son was already three when we started using taxis here in the UK...we normally adjust the seat belt so he is suitably restrained and tied in properly before we go anywhere......and i might add the taxis here in the Isle of Man are more careful than in Liverpool or London where u can get into a taxi and they normally do not worry about how the child is restrained...normally now when we catch a cab in Liverpool, he has his wheelchair with iim...so i normally get him out of his chair and onto the seat and tie him in......the speed and rate these cabbies use is despicable many a time the wheelchair has turned and thank goodness he has not been in the chair......:eek:

[Venus]

Originally posted by dudette
I recently visited a friend in another city and was surprised to discover that none of the taxis there carried car seats for babies. Now, considering the legislation regarding carrying children in vehicles, how does this affect taxi drivers carrying small children?
Luckily as my child is just over 9 months, I took her carry-on car seat, but what happens when she's older? If we do get pulled over by the police who will have to pay any fine, the parent or the driver?

Who else has had to use a taxi, and what was your experience?

I was very concerned about the same thing just a few weeks ago. I had to hold my son on my lap & was so worried that it wasn't safe. Surely the taxis could carry a child seat in their boot? But then they'd probably be held liable if there was an accident & the child seat failed in some way. In Sheffield, the big cabs are able to take an unfolded pram or wheelchair, so where possible I've always tried to use one of them & simply wheel the pram into the taxi.