Posted by
tsingtao
16 yrs ago
I am soon to have my first child and would like to know if there are any laws in Hong Kong regarding traveling in taxis. Do I need to buy some safety harness for my baby or can I simply sit in the back seat and hold her on my lap?
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AFAIK there are no laws regarding rear seat passengers, only recommendations (which are mostly common sense)...we always have our daughter in a bjorn (as I brace for the onslaught of abuse from concerned parents...) in the back seat, with a belt between baby and me, NOT around the baby...i think more and more parents are opting for a travel system type stroller for infants, where the car seat clicks into the stroller, and out again for taxi rides, with the stroller in the trunk...but we use taxis VERY infrequently so we've opted not to...
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As funbobby says, no law, but in my opinion making sure baby is safe in this case should not need a law.
Not to rain on the Bjorn parade, but the Baby Bjorn is in no way strong enough to restrain your baby in case of a crash. I mean, it's better than nothing, but it's not that strong.
Car seat is the best, but a hassle since you have to lug it around at your destination. After that you have various harnesses that baby wears and are attached to the seat belt.
The "Baby B'Air" thing is no good for car travel. Not strong enough just like the BB.
Buses are a good option if the route/time works. They are so heavy that impacts are mild compared to cars. Which is why seat belts aren't required even for adults.
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I was just thinking that yesterday seeing a family with a little bub getting into a taxi without any safety equipment. I was shocked!
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Baby in lap is not really "fine". Even a low speed impact (20km/h) could easily lead to serious injury or death. There's no way you can hold on to baby if you crash even at rather slow speeds.
There's a reason for the seatbelt and car seat laws in most Western nations. They save countless lives yearly.
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i think 'fine' may be the wrong choice of words...'legally acceptable' perhaps...and I'm certainly not completely comfortable with using a bjorn, but for the few short trips (MAYBE 1 or 2 a month) that baby rides in a taxi, I can't justify hauling a carseat around...certainly if I had my own car, a car seat would be a permanent fixture in it...
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There is no law here on this and I have seen many shocking situations where kids are on the laps of parents in the front seat with no seat belts, common sense just does not prevail here.
As per most things here, it will take some poor kids skull to be smashed up before a law is passed, even then don't bank on any police bothering to stop people who flout it
You can buy a baby carrier that you wrap a seat belt around and wedge between the passenger seat and backseats. This is definately for the best and it will fit onto some of the strollers to act as a travel system. Well worth getting if you will use cars and taxis frequently, it costs about $2,000
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"Could agree with you, one has to be protective for their child however how many taxis crash in a day, and for instance, what are the chances of you being in the car that crashes? Perhaps when destiny has it, its bound to happen. Nothing can prevent it when the time comes...."
I disagree. I would rather try and affect "destiny" by skewing the odds. Sure, some things will just happen, but it's silly not to take precautions if it is practical. Most accidents are quite survivable if the passengers are strapped in. If you have a crash at 200 km/h you will probably die. But if your baby is in a crash at 30km/h and is not restrained, chances of death and major injury are very high. If he is in a carseat, chances are high he'll have no injuries or only minor.
"There is no law here on this and I have seen many shocking situations where kids are on the laps of parents in the front seat with no seat belts, common sense just does not prevail here."
Couldn't agree more. In this case there is the added danger of the airbag. Even in a low speed impact the airbag could well kill a kid in that position.
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"The answer used to be the Joeysafe, but it seems near impossible to find now."
My guess is because it was never approved in the US and thus became a bit unsellable. If you fiddle around on Amazon.com you can find alternative harnesses though.
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As someone who has needed to travel in taxi's often with a baby, I really like the maxi cosi car seat (which fits onto a number of different strollers) and then, when the baby is too big for that, the Sit n' Stroll. Amazing piece of kit. A proper car seat that has wheels that pop out of the bottom and a pull up handle meaning you can use it as a stroller for short trips. Plastic wheels so doesn't replace a proper stroller but great for short trips to and from a taxi. You can buy them online. We have loved ours and use it on the plane too.
SB2
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