nytraveler,

You've never been in a cab that had all green lights as far as the eye could see on one of the one way north-south streets (B'way, Madison, Lex) and wove in an out of traffic and slammed on the brakes frequently to avoid other cabs doing the same thing?

I love the thrill, but I wouldn't do it with a kid in the car.

The bullet-proof plastic shield that separates the front and the back seats results in a lot of head injuries in NYC.

It was my daughter who was in the cab accident last Thurday night. They were crossing an intersection in Midtown when a speeding SUV ran the (very) red light and broadsided them. Thank God the impact was centered on the post between driver's door and back door, so injuries were painful, but not serious. DD was farthest from the impact and still banged into the door quite forcefully. I'm waiting for pictures.. She says her face and knees are "colorful".

That said, sometime you just have to weigh the odds. She spent last fall in India and I used to wake up in a sweat, thinking of all the dangers of Indian roads and rails.

Lots of tragedies have happened to people in NYC in the last few years...cab accidents were not one of my fears, but it is a possibility.

BTW, as a child, I did several road trips (Calif to Mississippi)loose in the mattress-lined back of a station wagon. No one knew any better, and it sure was a fun way to travel!!

I remember lying across the back window, briefly. My dad would yell move I can't see. I remember riding in the way back of the jeep wagoneer. I also had two parents that smoked like chimneys with the windows closed! I also remember riding in the middle of the front seat between my parents when I got tired of fighting it out with my two brothers in the back seat.
Yes, I survived! LOL.
Truthfully, we are in a much safer world with car seats and seatbelts. I have however, let my children ride in cabs most of the time with just a seatbelt in cities around the country. We didn't take car seats on vacations and my kids aren't even that old. We rented one if we rented a car. I never brought one on a plane or in a taxi. And that was just about 10 years ago or even less. I think you will be fine, but you must do what you think is best. I like the idea of tipping the guy extra to drive slower. My kids just recently rode the subways in NY and enjoyed the experience.

nessundorma -

Of course I have - at night. But we're talking about toddlers here - presumably they're not going to the theater or a late dinner. And during the day traffic usually keeps speeds below 30 - often well below (it sometimes feels like it's faster becaue so many cabs have no springs left - and the number of potholes in the streets).

And it seems like I was the one that pointed out how frequent cab accidents are - just that they're usually not at high speeds - mostly scraped bumpers/fenders - but agree on a lot of short stops.

And if the driver is too bad you can just tell him to slow down - or to let you out (I've done the later twice - and both times refused to pay - in both cases the drivers were using someone else's hack license.)

thanks for all the responses! i'll look into those tote n go vests and play it by ear.

I was in NYC with my 2 1/2 year old last year. I found it easiest to keep her in the stroller, carry it down to the subway, make the subway attendant open the wheelchair gate for me, and stroll her onto a train. I took cabs a couple times and was a nervous wreck. It was important to have a light stroller that I was very adept at folding up and willing to check at restaurants.