Taxis and car seats

C

CAKaren

Registered User
I'm visiting Hong Kong from the United States with my 10-month old son. I know there are no laws regarding infant car seat use in Hong Kong and I also know that using car seats in taxis is the safest. If we plan to use a car seat in taxis, how receptive are taxi drivers to the car seats? Do they grumble and are they impatient at the time it takes to install the car seat? I'm just wondering about the social acceptability of car seat use in taxis (though with the understanding that my child's safety is more important than social acceptance). Any thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated!
 
We use the Orbit car seat and all we have to do is slip the seat belt through the car seat...it doesn't take more than half a minute and I've never had a taxi driver grumble or complain about it. Having said that - we always get in a taxi with our baby from a taxi line where the taxi can wait a minute before starting. If you were to say jump in a taxi from curbside on a road and there were moving cars behind you waiting, I'm not sure how the taxi driver would react.
 
if you were to bring a carseat with you, make sure it is one that is easily attached, as mentioned above. taxi drivers will grumble tremendously if you take too long and they have stopped curbside. not only that, but if you are holding up traffic, then you will have horns from vehicles behind you blaring away.

carseats are NOT the norm in hong kong. (it is utterly ridiculous and sooooo dangerous!) even people with private cars here seem to not even think about it. i've seen drivers with children on their laps (in a car park, parking their lovely HUGE Alphard van), children jumping around in the back seat etc. it astonishes me that the people who "devote" themselves to their child's education (they are totally obsessed!) to give their children the "best" of everything and then not to even use a car seat? it boggles my mind.
 
Hi

We have a sit n' stroll which is a good car seat for taxi use in HK. It is an excellent car seat but also has a pull up handle which turns it into a stroller. Very handy especially for travelling and for taxis. You may even be able to use it on the flight (if you are buying a seat for your baby). It is an average stroller (plastic wheels and a bit rickety) but is good for HK where the alternative is lugging a car seat around with you between taxis. I believe that they are made in the US and you can't buy them in HK.

In terms of ease of use - it can be heavy once the baby gets bigger. I can no longer lift our 19 month old once he is in it (but am also pregnant so it is more of the strain I am concerned about but also the weight of him and the seat!) but it is quick to put in a taxi. Agree with the posters above, better if the taxi can pull off the road a bit so you are not holding up other traffic but the taxi driver should not otherwise complain if you let them start the meter straight away while you are installing it.

SB2
 
i am also really interested in this .....does any one know who might stock this sit and stroll - or the orbit. I actually saw a car seat strapped to a milk crate and wheels,and handle attatched when i was over there - so looks like some clever soul has made their own version!:smile:
 
indi'n'zai'smum - if you are still in Australia, you may be able to get it before you come to HK as I bought mine in New Zealand. They are rebranded "the Pod" in New Zealand but the manual etc and the stickers on the car seat say "Sit n' Stroll".

This is the link for the NZ distributer. If you do a search you may be able to find an Australian distributer.

The POd

SB2
 
You can get the Orbit at Mothercare. Actually the orbit car seat is part of my stroller. The orbit is a stroller system that comes with a car seat. The car seat clicks onto the stroller....once the baby gets too big for the car seat (designed for new born to around 20 pounds) then the Orbit has a toddler seat sold separately for the stroller. At that point, I would have to buy a new car seat......
 
the sit'n'stroll are not on sale in hk. i had to buy mine (back when my kids were small) second-hand. the previous owner had bought them in the US.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far. I'm having a hard time justifying paying $250+ for a Sit n Stroll (since I already the Britax Marathon here at home) that I'll use for only a few times in HK. Maybe I'll go to Babies R Us and see if there's a cheap and lightweight (though safe) carseat; or, we'll just try to avoid using taxis as much as possible.
 
I got scolded a lot by taxi drivers whenever I went out with the car seat, so much so that we did stop using it once my son was old enough for us to put him into the Baby Bjorn, so that we could just wear him and the seatbelt together. That might work for you, too. Good luck!
 
IF you use a seatbelt and baby bjorn or something like that, you must not put the seatbelt around the both of you. That is actually LESS safe because if you're in an accident, your weight can crush the baby into the seatbelt. If you want to strap your baby onto you, put the seatbelt around you like a lap sash so that if you're in an accident, you don't crush the baby between yourself and the car seat.

I'm one of those "bad mums" that just carries my baby in the cab. I used to strap her onto me and put the seatbelt on myself but not her, but now I don't use my baby carrier as much and just hold on to her tight. For me, the hassle of carrying a car seat around everywhere isn't worth it. If I had a car, and if I didn't mind having a super heavy stroller, I would use one of those Orbits or something like that - but for me, I don't think that would really work...
 
I may have just been very lucky but I've used the Maxi cosi since my son was born more than a year ago and had very few grumbles from taxi drivers. I say something like 'sorry but please wait until the baby is safe before we start' and almost all drivers have been lovely about it. A number of times the drivers have cooed at my boy while I strap him in and then reminded me to use my belt too to be safe before we get going.

I have had a couple of grumpy drivers but they have not been the norm.

Most hk people love babies - even if they find expats a bit mad!
 
Will a BabyBjorn protect a child in a taxi?
While your girlfriend might use it for her baby and your pediatrician might even have said it's OK, the Baby Bjorn (or any other type of soft infant carrier – Snugli, etc) will not protect a baby in a crash.

Researchers Kathleen Weber and John Melvin of the Highway Safety Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School tested this scenario using a 30 mph, front, dynamic crash test of the type required by the current federal safety standard for child car seats. In the crash test, an adult held the baby in a soft, cloth front carrier like the Baby Bjorn and used a lap/shoulder belt. The researchers found that this infant was at a very high risk. The tested carrier shredded completely, ejecting the infant dummy into the dashboard. If the carrier had not shredded, they found that the infant would likely still not have survived. As the adult's head traveled forward in the whiplash motion, the adult's chin would have slammed down into the infant's head right where the soft spot is.

If you find yourself in a taxi with just your infant and a Baby Bjorn (hopefully you never will), there is no way to protect your baby. However, you can still protect yourself by wearing your seatbelt. Putting the seatbelt over you and the baby will only make matters worse. It will not help the baby and will endanger you in the process.

The link: http://www.thecarseatlady.com/taxis/using_taxis_8.html (more relevant information about how to protect your baby in a car in the link)
 
So what do (responsible) people do? We don't have a car and we rarely use taxis, but might do very occasionally. How should we get our baby home from the hospital when they're born. Not a bus surely??
 
Responsible people look at the risks carefully and make an informed and reasonable decision.

We put our baby into a moses basket, hopped in a taxi and came home using the normal and usual slow lanes of Hong Kong; 3 times for 3 babies.
 
we bought a SIT'N'STROLL stroller that converts to a car seat. i used them for my two kids until i bought a car and wanted proper carseats. they are not available in hk (afaik) but you can sometimes find them second hand or order one online.
 
You can also get wheels to attach to firward facing car seeats so you can pull them behind you when out and about- probably not for long walks but sturdy enough for the short ones
 
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Responsible and informed decision in this case is to get a car seat for a new born. There is no other safe way to transport a baby even if the taxi/car is driving at the legal minimum. There are many car seats that can easily be used using the seat belts in taxis: Maxi Cosi, Cybex etc (you can get them from Bumbs to Babes in Central). The price is around 1500HKD. I really don't see a point to discuss here. Will you risk your child's life because a few taxi drivers complained about it?
 
qwert12 said:
Responsible and informed decision in this case is to get a car seat for a new born.
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That is certainly one conclusion that one can come up with. As can be seen in this thread, there are other choices and conclusions as well.
I really don't see a point to discuss here.
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The fact that others have different opinions makes it a worth while discussion.
Will you risk your child's life because a few taxi drivers complained about it?
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There are those in the world who do not mind taking some calculated risks. Whether it be related to seatbelts, choice of food&drink during pregnancy, choice of hospital type, choice of particular drugs before birth or vaccinations&drugs to give our kids once they are born. Those differences make for interesting and engaging discussions.
 
What I have seen but do not practice myself as I don't use taxis when with my children is some parents using the infant seat belt 'borrowed' permanently from Cathay Pacific. Not sure how safe nor effective this is, but if it does work it would save a lot of hassles as the thing can just slip into your handbag.

I would agree about the baby bjorn, the crash test videos are harrowing, the clips ect just completely buckle with any sort of braking. Used to use the bjorn when I first arrived in HK before I sorted out my people mover, so these videos were a real eye opener for me.
 
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