I’m going to have to pick my future brother inlaw, wife and child up from the airport the eve of my wedding because they wont take their 17 month on their lap in the taxi. I thought it was a bit precious for an 8 mile journey to the hotel (20 mile roundtrip for me).

Can I ask why in your own car you must have a child seat but in a bus or taxi then you don’t. Am not having a go here it’s just something that I ve always wondered about. You thought the bus company or taxi would have to have provisions in place

The practicalitys of storing all the sizes of child seat in a car make it a non starter in most taxis. where would you put peoples luggage if your boot was full of child seats ?
Current advise for carrying small children is, if their big enough to sit on their own and stay still put the belt around their waist with the shoulder strap going under the armpit. I think its better for an adult to wear the belt, and to hold the child securly on their lap.
For all those suprised at the op he’s far from alone, I get people with their own child seats only going a mile or two down the road.

I went on holiday with my sister and then 18 month old niece to Menorca. On the approx 90 minute transfer from the airport to the resort my niece sat/wriggled on my knee and pointed at things out of the window. No-one died.

by your logic all car seats are redundant.

Someone decided that because they did one journey and they all survived, that means you don’t need a car seat and it’ll all be fine?

It’s amazing what passes for reasoning on here sometimes

‘m going to have to pick my future brother inlaw, wife and child up from the airport the eve of my wedding because they wont take their 17 month on their lap in the taxi

I don’t blame them. Imagine if you were holding your child on your knee and the taxi had an accident, you wouldn’t be able to keep hold of the child.

I wouldn’t risk any car journey without a car seat, no matter how short.

On a transfer bus, i would use the lap belt if nothing else was available.

On a transfer from a long term car park to Gatwick, my 2 year old was sitting on my knee and the bus did an emergency stop and he hit his head on a metal pole. He was Ok but I sure held him tighter ever after.

Konabunny, I was puzzled at the reasoning that other people seemed to be applying.

Why would anyone say those things unless they were trying to use it as justification that it was safe?