taxi rides

yes, i'm interested to in getting the government to tighten the carseat safety issues. I know soooooooo-oo many people who thinks I'm just being overprotective with this car seat issue and that i'm giong overboard by not willing to take my baby in the taxi without a carseat with us! This is a constant arguement that I have with my inlaws...
And you know the funny thing about the adult seatbelt mandatory thing- you know how the taxi allows 5 passengers? well, most wil seat 4 at the back and 1 in front, but there are only 3 seatbelts in the back. Many ppl don't realize that 2 ppl are suppose to sit in front but the taxi drivers never say anything!
 
I've just read the website and it's crazy, they actually say that children under 2 years old if need to sit in front must be securing fasten using proper restraint! They didn't mentioned anything about risks of airbags-only dashboard risks! This is unreal!
 
I think it's unreal how the HK Government doesn't educate people about the importance of the mandatory use of carseats for babies. People are not very knowledgable about this and it's not about convenience , it's about putting babies' safety FIRST! I'm not trying to be judgmental- but it's a fact that babies placed in carseats are 75% safer than not in one when accidents occur.
 
I agree with you eplo19!

I am always incredulous when I see people holding their baby sitting in the front seat of a taxi! And they are often not even using a seatbelt for themselves! Amazing...

And no, I do NOT have my own car or driver (I wish!) but take public transportation all the time - taxis, buses, MTR etc.

As my child is almost 8 mos old and can still fit in the carseat I'm fine for now but I do struggle what I will have to do when she grows out of it. Agree that there are not really that many options...
 
Niutalent- how do you travel with your baby in the taxi and buses- are buses safe without the carseat? Do you just put your child in their stroller or what? I take mainly the MTR or walk as like you I don't have my own car or driver (I wish too!).. but sometimes, I get my friends to pick me up where I would installed the carseat in their car.... like you I'm concern about when my 1/2 months old outgrow her carseat.. but my carseat doens't fit into the taxis here.. what brand is your carseat- it fits into the taxis?
 
Hi eplo19- we have the maxi cost cabrio and it fits in taxis...which maxi cosi do you have?

Some taxi seatbelts are not long enough for it, but the majority are. Have only been in maybe two taxis where it hasn't fitted.

My son is 5 mnths and fast outgrowing his car seat/bugaboo combination and really don't know what we are going to do. I know baby seatbelts are one option, but they don't offer the same kind of protection as a car seat. We shall just have to make the decision not to travel to taxi which is not so difficult in HK!

Am with the need for tougher laws in HK regarding children in taxis and cars....not sure why HK thinks it doesn't need them and why there are none in place!
 
what about those of us with twin babies and no car/driver? I'm all panicked now reading this thread.

However we're usually in a taxi for maybe 10 or max 15 mins and rarely go out (because there are two babies...)
 
We have the joey safe when we travel by taxi.
Here are a few tips to make it easier for you.

Depending on where you live order a taxi to your place then they will have to wait for you to be ready.

When you are on your way home, always get a cab from a taxi rank.

Keep the door open until everyone is in. They won't drive away with the door open.

Ignore the taxi driver if he is telling you to hurry, aslong as the taxi driver is not stopped illegally or unsafe it won't matter.

In an ideal world every taxi would have a baby seat but as there aren't any laws in HK that is just a dream.

There are many of us that have to rely on public transport and do not have the means to carry large car seats around with us. Travel as much as you can by mtr and bus and save the taxi for the last resort.
 
It's not a case of being judgemental, it's down to what type of risks you're prepared to take with your children and whether you can live with yourself should the worst happen. I hope that it will never be an issue and that we will never be in a crash, but I could not possibly go on if my children were killed because I thought it was inconvenient to strap them in as best as I could.

To Matty, we have 3 children, no nanny, driver etc. The youngest is the easiest, because of the baby car seat and buggy option. I think we'll stick with this for as long as possible. The other 2 used to travel with Joeysafes but now we've found Safety 1st Tote 'n' Go's, which feel safer (hope that no. 3 will transfer into this whenh the capsule is too small). Thankfully, we've never had to test them on impact.

I guess it's a personality thing. Many people ignore the 'what not to eat rules' while pregnant with no negative consequences. I'm in the 'what if?' category and just want to know that I've taken every reasonable step to avoid anything going wrong. There are too many things beyond my control, not to take every precaution where I can. Most accidents happen within a few miles of home, so knowing that we are always taking short journeys is of no comfort to me.
 
Sure it's better to be safe!

I'm wondering how my brother and I survived growing up without car seats in HK..... My poor Mother!

Anyway, that aside, what the hell is a Joeysafe? Or a Safety 1st Tote 'n' Go's? I've never even heard of them till this thread!
 
Would anybody really want to put their baby into a carseat that lives in the back of a HK taxi?
How often do you think it would get cleaned? Mmm very hygenic!
If every taxi in HK had a carseat how pleased do you think the 99% of travellers without children would be?

Lets use some commonsense people.

You do the best you can in the environment that we have to live in here in HK.
With my first baby I too was adamant that you must use a car seat in a taxi. But if all of us are honest, once we've had a 2nd child or our first has outgrown their carseat you find yourself restraining your toddler in a regular seat belt.

Or perhaps you find yourself out somewhere with only your baby bjorn, and find yourself taking an unplanned taxi ride?

We have enough to make us feel guilty and inadequate as moms as it is.
Let's stop playing the I'm a good mom your a bad mom game and accept that this is where we live and this how it is.
 
Just because HK has no laws saying how children should travel in cars/taxis does not mean it is safe for them to travel in cars/taxis without a proper car seat and or seatbelts. Just because it is difficult to make sure your child is always in a car seat in taxi or properly restrained does not mean it is safe to do so. Just because there aren't many cases of children, not properly restrained, being killed or hurt in car/taxi accidents in HK does not mean it is safe to do so.

I'm not trying to judge anyone for how they travel with their child- I'm just saying what is a stated fact- to travel with a child in a taxi or car without a car seat or proper restraint/seatbelt is dangerous! This is why developed countries around the world have very strict and stringent laws saying how a child should travel in a car or taxi. I still have yet to understand why HK does not.

Personally I wouldn't care about the few germs that might be living on a car seat that permanently lived in the back of a taxi- I would just be so relieved and happy that my son, and countless other babies, were safe during a taxi ride.
 
And if car seats in the back of taxis meant HKs babies could travel safely....what other passengers think is of no consequence....surely the safety of babies in a taxi comes before what others may think!

Plus the car seat does not have to be strapped in the back all the time. It can be kept in the boot and taken out when a passenger with a baby gets into the cab. And then removed when passengers without babies get in.

The issue is - who should pay for the car seats? The government would be one option, because it would obviously be unfair to expect the taxi driver to do it.
Am still waiting to win the Mark 6....but if and when I do a car seat for every taxi in HK shall be one of my first purchases!
 
Bekyboo44, If the taxi trunk has a carseat in it, where am I supposed to put my luggage on my way to the airport on work trips each month?
And before you say take it out and put it in the taxi, what happens when I am sharing a cab with others?

It's kind of naive to think that passengers without children would put the safety of children over there day to day comfort.
I'm not anti safety, I put both of my children in carseats as infants, and plan to do so with my third, but as someone who has lived here before having children, you have to be able to look at life in HK from the perspective of other peoples lifestyles, not just your own.
 
After reading this thread, I thought I would give the Joey a try. It is now called FreedomRide. I think I ordered it on Tuesday and it was delivered to my desk the following Monday. I have yet to try it but it looks fab.
My wee one is almost 2. We do have a car and she sits in her car seat whenever she is in that but if I am working and she goes out and takes a taxi I do worry about how to keep her safe. Unfortunately, lugging a child + stroller + bag + car seat around town with one pair of hands just isn't practical in Hong Kong, especially as most of the cab rides are quite short and usually require quick entries and exits. Never mind if there is more than one child.
We had a car seat/stroller combination when she was a tiny baby but I found that about 1/3 of taxis I took didn't have a long enough seat belt to secure it in the back (can you not buy seat belt extensions??). When she grew out of that, we used the Baby Bjorn but she is now too big for that.
When I was 8 weeks pregnant with #2 (travelling alone), the taxi I was in ran into the back of a truck on the Eastern Corridor. Everyone was fine, thankfully, but it did make me stress even more about how to keep my wee one safe. Hopefully the FreedomRide will do the trick.
 
Where can I get a Joeysafe in Hong Kong pls? Around how much? How long can a child use it for, say up to 6 yo?

tks

rgds

e
 
I don't know if you can buy them in Hong Kong but I just ordered mine over the internet. I used the link one of the other mummies posted and it took me to the website. I think the total price, including postage, was US$80. It took less than a week to arrive.

In terms of age, it says up to 50lbs and the children in the picture seem to be quite big. It would be worth checking out the website though for more information.
 
Personally I'm not a fan of the Joeysafe. It's a pain to put on and my daughter resists strongly. It doesn't get a lot of use in our house, except for longer trips or rainy days. How to travel with children is always a challenge-safely and efficiently, that is.
Good luck.
 
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