lolfn

we'll be in nyc in a couple weeks for the weekend with our 4yo and 3yo. we used to live in the city before kids and will be staying with friends.

how in the heck do you deal with cabs and young kids? don't do it? and just walk or subway it?

i know my friends who raise their kids in the city often just risk it, my best friend saying, "i've never known anyone to get in an accident in a cab." but, silly me, my kids' safety is pretty important to me.

curious what others do.

thanks!

mireaux7

most cabbies in new york are well accustomed to driving in congestion. i dont forsee any cab getting into any accidents in nyc anytime soon. i would favor a cab over a sub anyday for a young child

LoveItaly

Well on another board a poster had a daughter (college age I believe) who was in a NY Taxi with 3 friends and a SUV sidewiped the taxi. Fortunatly no real serious injuries.

But certainly do not know how many taxi's in NYC are involved in accidents.

I don't think there is anyway to 100% protect our little ones lolfn. However you are getting to NYC, by car, by train, by plane..there are risk. I have had little ones in taxi's in SF..and believe me SF is sometimes a crazy place to drive..and there was never an accident. Best wishes and enjoy NYC!!

nytraveler

If you had ever looked at a NYC cab closely you would easily see how many accidents they get into. Granted most are fender benders with no injuries - but more serious accidents are certainly possible - even at 30/35 mph. If you bring car seats they are (theoretically) attachable in cabs - although I'm not sure about 2 in the same cab.

And yes - most people just take the chance. As far as the subway or bus - I've often been in them when they stopped short and people fell - so you're taking some chance - however small - unless you stick to feet.

vegasnative

Cars don't have to be in an accident for a child to get hurt. What if the driver has to slam on their brakes? What if another driver hits your cab to no fault of your cab driver? What is the law in NY for kids and car seats? I would rather take the subway, plus the kids would probably enjoy it, ours did.

lolfn

when i say "risk it in cabs", i mean putting the kids in there without carseats not just riding lawfully strapped in carseats. our carseats are bulky, heavy britaxs and i don't plan on lugging them around the city.

and i know accidents happen. when dh and i were first dating, he borrowed my car to drive out to new jersey and a cab sideswiped him. so i just worry about them not being properly strapped in.

MonicaRichards

ANd there's your answer! Kids like public transportation anyhow, they'll think it's cool.

padams421

We took our kids in cabs in NYC when they were that age. We used the seatbelts- no carseats. I can be just as paranoid as any other mom about safety. However, I do realistically look at the situation including the odds that something might happen. Several generations grew up riding in cars without carseats. Most of those people didn't even use seatbelts. Ok, let the flames and attacks begin.

jlm_mi

Legally you are not required to put your kids in carseats in cabs, but they are required to give you time to do so if you choose.

I'm really surprised at the response "i dont forsee any cab getting into any accidents in nyc anytime soon." That's beyond ridiculous, actually. Of course, the vast majority of cab rides do not involve accidents, but they occur quite frequently. Here's an article (granted from 1998, but still) quoting 20,582 injuries from accidents involving cabs in NY in 1996.

http://www.transalt.org/press/media/...dailynews.html

Odds are you'd be fine taking your kids in cabs with just seatbelts across their laps, but I probably wouldn't do it frequently. Especially in NYC where the subway is so easy and safe to use, it seems the best choice.

It's easy to tell someone to take their kids in a cab with no carseat, but it's certainly a different story when it's your own child's safety you're concerned about!

magay

I travel with a device called the "Tote N Go" made by Safety 1st. It's kind of a portable travel vest. Weighs 4 pounds. No question but that the Britax is safer (but huge - I've got one, too), in my opinion, but this thing is safer than nothing, or than putting a too small kid in a regular seat belt. Just don't forget it in the cab!

Lena456

We've gotten out of cabs in New York when we had the kids with us and the seatbelts didn't work. We finally decided we would not close the doors until we made certain that the kids were strapped in.

nessundorma

I wouldn't take kids in an NYC cab unless I just couldn't avoid it, and the minute I got in, I'd tell the driver I'd guarantee him an extra 10 bucks on the trip if he drives slowly and carefully. Most taxi drivers are trying to maximize the number of fares they pick up each day, so unless you pay them for their time, they are going to drive like stock car racers.

Scarlett

LOL, talk about taxi accidents! Yes, they do get into accidents, often. ( anyone who says this might not have been to NYC)
My husband was in a cab that was sideswiped by a bus, friends have been hit by them, an elderly friend of ours had her car totalled by a cab, and most recently a friend ( LoveItaly spoke of her) had a daughter in a big taxi crash.

nytraveler

Well - actually it's hard to drive like a stock car racer in a cab in Manhattan - because the traffic lights are set at 30 mph and traffic usually keeps speeds below that (although cabs certainly can - and do - go much faster on the parkways.) They will however cut in and out, ignoring lanes, pot holes etc - just like every other driver in NYC.

If you're more comfy on the subway or bus - that's fine. I wouldn;t want to spend a lot of time in a cab with little kids without seats - but for an occcasional ride with 3 or 4 year olds - I would just belt them in - everyone I know does it.

Scarlett

Well, I cut myself off there!

So, everyday people still get into cabs with children, I would suggest wearing the seatbelt and hanging on to the babies, or skip the cab.

starrsville

Just curious - does anyone else remember stretching out on the ledge in front of the rear window of the family car?

Scarlett

lol, starrsville, no. But my cat did

jlm_mi

LOL starsville! I have to guess I'm younger than you (only 31), but I remember my mother (single mother) taking me, my two brother, one of their friends, and my cousin (yes, 6 people over the age of 12) on an 8 hour road trip in her Pontiac Le Mans in the late 80s. My cousin (the oldest) sat in the front, and me, my brothers and their friend all laid flat on the back seat through to the trunk (the seat was folded down). We also sat frequently in the back of pickups, and I even rode on the back of one of my mom's friend's motorcycle when I was about 10.

That said, we've learned a lot about vehicle safety in the last 10-15 years. Those who didn't live through the unsafe practices of those times aren't here to tell about it.

LoveItaly

Hi Starrsville, no, didn't do that but I sure remember my parents thought if we children didn't stick our head or limbs out of the car window we were "safe", LOL. How times have changed.

J_Correa

And then of course there were the road trips in the station wagon where we sat in the "way back". That was the best place. Who wants to sit in the back when you can lounge in the way back?

But yes, jlm is right - those who didn't survive car accidents back then aren't here to tell about it and the rest of us are just lucky.

I was in a reasonably serious accident a few years back - bad enough that the frame on my car was bent and the transmission cracked - poor car looked like it bled to death right there in the street. The other vehicle was pretty bad off too. Anyway, thanks to seatbelts and airbags, no one needed so much as a bandaid.