Seatbelts in Mexico?

gigi

New member
My friend is traveling to a resort in Mexico and trying to plan for the airport to resort ride. Does anyone have any idea what to expect from a taxi or transport van as far as seat belts or restraint installation? Are there seat belts? Do they lock? Anything else to plan for?
 
ADS

Pepse

New member
We just went cancun and it was a 12 seater van, there were no seatbelts at all. Most of the transportation was like that, however depending on how she is getting there ie with a charter group, it may be with a big greyhound type
 

hipmaman

Moderator - CPST Instructor
We were in Puerto Vallarta in Nov and mainly took local buses while there. On the way from the airport to the hotel/resort, we had a small passenger van (I think an 8-seater) and there were some seatbelts but they didn't wait for us to install anything, so I was hanging over the seatback to clip dd's Travel Vest tether hook to the floor while they were backing out of the airport curb (crazy!) On the back to the airport, we had a small vehicle and we had to wait for this one for a long time already. Most vehicles/taxis around there was enough to take 3 people. The seatbelts were all in this vehicle but with the driver, there were 6 of us and 5 seatbelts :( Let just say I was glad the ride to the airport was less than 5 mins.
 

KatrinaUSC

New member
I went to a scary, but sortof touristy part of Mexico and there were no seatbelts, the cabs were barely running, and they had us sit on each other laps (all adults)... Totally unsafe and I was pretty sure I wasnt going to make it back to the US... I'd try to stick with tour groups and choose the transportation very carefully.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org
 

Adventuredad

New member
Where is she going? Standard of taxis will vary greatly depending on destination. In general a large bus is safer but it may not be convenient. On all our trips to Mexico we use transportation consisting of a regular car or some kind of van.

In many places vehicles are new and of high standard. Again, standards will vary depending on destination. An easy way is to ask when reserving the cab. If car/van has no seat belts simply use another one. What kind of seats is she bringing?
 

Pepse

New member
Where is she going? Standard of taxis will vary greatly depending on destination. In general a large bus is safer but it may not be convenient. On all our trips to Mexico we use transportation consisting of a regular car or some kind of van.

In many places vehicles are new and of high standard. Again, standards will vary depending on destination. An easy way is to ask when reserving the cab. If car/van has no seat belts simply use another one. What kind of seats is she bringing?



This is great idea however, alot of trips are "packages" and transportation is arranged for you and even if requested, u normally don't get it.

We requested both ways but after 3 different vans being sent and our time dwindling, we gave up
 

gigi

New member
She is flying with an 18 month old lap baby. She literally only needs the seat for the 30 minute trip to the resort and back to the airport. It will be gate checked for plane and not needed for airport trips to from home. I wouldn't do any of the above with my own child and, having traveled by mexican van many times before, wouldn't do the airport transfer either but it isn't my call and I wanted to try to keep her kid as safe as possible.

I told her to call whomever arranged resort transportation and ask about seatbelts.

Thanks everyone!
 

Pepse

New member
gigi said:
She is flying with an 18 month old lap baby. She literally only needs the seat for the 30 minute trip to the resort and back to the airport. It will be gate checked for plane and not needed for airport trips to from home. I wouldn't do any of the above with my own child and, having traveled by mexican van many times before, wouldn't do the airport transfer either but it isn't my call and I wanted to try to keep her kid as safe as possible.

I told her to call whomever arranged resort transportation and ask about seatbelts.

Thanks everyone!

It is hard but we had 12 people in our group and private taxi was not any option for us at all.:(.
 

QuassEE

Moderator - CPST Instructor
The only time my kids have ridden completely unrestrained was in Mexico. We had to decide between a 5 minute taxi ride from Tj to the border, or walking through a questionable area after dark. We opted for the unrestrained option.

Honestly, you do what you have to do. I've been unrestrained on many vacations back when most countries didn't have rear belts. I've also been in lapbelts. Heck, only recently, I was in a rear-facing lap-belt only seat while my son was in a passenger seat with the l/s belt. I've put kids in footwells over the years, too (best containment, by the way...if it comes down to it..)

Do I lose my membership to the club now?

I've traveled to a lot of places, and been in a lot of situations..and although my #1 priority is to keep my kids safe, especially from their #1 killer...I still need to live life. If you really want to keep them safe, put them in a bubble and never let them out of the house. Unfortunately, with experience and living..comes risk.

Now I look at transportation types as an adventure when I travel. You never know what you're going to get. It's a surprise. :) Sometimes a good one, sometimes a bad one. It won't stop me from going.

For an 18m old, I would take a higher weight infant seat without the base. It's too bad the baby is flying as a lap baby--that's one thing you CAN plan for and predict. Buying a seat would not only protect the baby (and their sanity), but give them a place to "store" the carseat.

-Nicole.
 

gigi

New member
I agree about lap baby. I gave her all the info and she made a parental decision.

The baby is about 30" and 32 pounds and mom swears there is no way to buckle her in the SR32. I told her to check again, especially for the outer loops on the harness straps, but I don't think she will (the seat is in storage 45 mins from where we live and mom works full time and can't get there bf the trip).

I was really just wondering if she should even bring a car seat (bc bringing one would involve gate checking it and buying it -I did convince her not to gate check baby's primary seat, a TF), but it seems like the presence of belts is so unpredictable that she'll have to make calls to research that and make a parental decision.
 

whitejerabias

New member
It really depends on where you go, I guess. I have never seen seatbelts in Mexico unless it's been in a private, wealthy person's car. Or if there are belts there is nowhere to click them in, or vice versa. The taxis carry as many as possible, usually meaning four or five Americans or up to seven Mexicans. Then there's the option of a camioneta which is a pickup truck with seating built into the bed. All children sit on laps. But, I travel in Oaxaca, the southernmost state and I go to a very rural pacific coast. I imagine it might be a little better if you are going to a resort and an area that is significantly wealthier.

The only car seats I saw in Mexico this January were in cars belonging to Mexicans from DF (Mexico City). And usually, the seat was there but the child was in arms.

Here in the USA car safety is very important to me but there, what can I do? The option is just not there. It's too bad, but they really have so much more to worry about I imagine car safety is far down on the to do list.

When we traveled to Mexico when she was a year, she was in the plane as a lap child. When we went this year she had her own seat on the plane, but no restraint. I know this was not the safe decision, but I was travelling alone and carrying a car seat just to use in the plane ride would not have been a very smart decision. When we arrived at the beach the seat would have had to been stored in a tiny room on the sand, possibly stolen, probably damaged by sand and salt. I made the decision not to bring a seat knowing there would be no option for installing it at any point during our trip.
 

Adventuredad

New member
When we do our Mexican adventures we are usually 5-6 people with at least two children. We have brought RF seats (Britax Hi-Way) and now bring high back boosters (Britax Adventure). In the past ten years we have almost exclusively been in a new Suburban or a van of some kind.

This kind of transportation is not any more expensive than a regular taxi. Since they cater to tourists safety is more of a factor. These companies often have a website and are quite serious.

I spent two months in Mexico in March-April 2010. Vehicles at resort places (Cancun, Acapulco, Vallarta, Cabo) were never an issue. In Mexico City we had our own car. Taxis in Mexico City are a bit hit or miss regarding seat belts. I never used these for the kids but had to use some myself.

Regular taxis are normally in a que so if one taxi is old there is normally ten others around and some of these are always late model cars.

I agree with Quasse, sometimes it's difficult to keep kids safe no matter what precautions we take and how hard we try. I've spent a lot of time in Mexico and child safety in cars is not something anyone things about. Rich or poor. Last time I spent three weeks in Mexico City, the worlds largest city, before I saw a single car seat:whistle:

Enjoy your weekend!
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
This kind of transportation is not any more expensive than a regular taxi. Since they cater to tourists safety is more of a factor. These companies often have a website and are quite serious.

I realize this thread is old however, I was wondering where we'd find safe transfers from Nuevo Vallarta airport to our hotel. Above, you mention these companies have a website, so any information/websites/names/contacts would be helpful. We are traveling 6/2013 and will be bringing out Britax convertible car seat for our son who will be 2.5 years and are concerned about the taxi ride to/from from airport to hotel.
 

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