Shuttles in California-need a car seat?

todzwife

New member

• Jan 4, 2012

• #1

My friend is traveling to California and they are taking a shuttle (not the magic express bus) to their hotel.

I told her I'm pretty sure she's going to need a car seat for her 22 month old and at LEAST a high back booster for her 4 year old.

Am I right? She said she wants to just sit them in their seat belts and hold the baby.

 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member

• Jan 4, 2012

• #2

She needs seats for both.

 

todzwife

New member

• Jan 4, 2012

• #3

An Aurora said:

She needs seats for both.

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That's what I told her, but she said she doesn't think so. I told her if the vehicle has seat belts than her kids need to be in appropriate seats. She's calling the shuttle company though because she doesn't believe me. I'm not sure that the shuttle company would tell her "yes, you need to have seats for your kids" though.

 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member

• Jan 4, 2012

• #4

Yeah, we took a shuttle and it was just a 15 passenger van.

 

todzwife

New member

• Jan 4, 2012

• #5

Right. That's what I told her. *sigh* I hope the shuttle company does the right thing and tells her she needs seats.

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

Staff member

• Jan 4, 2012

• #6

They're required by law to require seats if it's not a bus. I'm not sure how many of them enforce that, but from what I've seen, at least some of them do. Like, when you call to book the shuttle they ask how many kids, ages, and tell you you need seats.

 

F

flipper68

Senior Community Member

• Jan 8, 2012

• #7

Depends on the shuttle.

Many airport shuttles have benches that are perpendicular to the front of the vehicle.

I don't know of any CR that allows use in that seating position.

I'd also recommend being REALLY good at installing whatever seat you use. Shuttle drivers are not patient. Nor are many of their passengers.

 

K

KaiLing

New member

• Jan 8, 2012

• #8

ketchupqueen said:

They're required by law to require seats if it's not a bus. I'm not sure how many of them enforce that, but from what I've seen, at least some of them do. Like, when you call to book the shuttle they ask how many kids, ages, and tell you you need seats.

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Just for my own curiosity as someone who helps out Californians: taxis are exempt from car seat laws, right? So are larger taxis also exempt (they are in NY), while shuttle vans are not? Do you happen to know how the law distinguishes between these?

And to clarify, for safety, children NEED a car seat in non-bus ground transportation. I'm just curious about California's law.

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Jan 8, 2012

• #9

California does not have an exemption for taxis. (ETA: Except for the taxi DRIVER. I think I read the idea is so they can get away faster if they're being robbed.)

 

K

KaiLing

New member

• Jan 9, 2012

• #10

LISmama810 said:

California does not have an exemption for taxis. (ETA: Except for the taxi DRIVER. I think I read the idea is so they can get away faster if they're being robbed.)

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Holy cow that's shockingly awesome!

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

Staff member

• Jan 9, 2012

• #11

Yeah, livery, taxis, etc. are not exempt, except the people in the front seat. That would be the driver and, I guess, his trainer or whatever? Anyone in the back seat(s) of a taxi, limo, or shuttle needs to be restrained according to the law.

If there are ONLY side-facing seats, then car seats are not required, since they can't be properly installed there and that's the exception to CA law. However, even on the non-bus shuttles with side-facing seats I've seen, they had both seatbelts and several forward-facing seats. I once had to ask the driver to clear that seat for me to install my child's car seat; he wasn't happy but once I pulled out my manual and showed that that was the only seat it could be properly installed on, he moved the people there (they weren't happy) and I put the seat in. The exemption would apply only if those seats were already in use by car seats, or there were absolutely no forward-facing seats with seatbelts, or if the vehicle was classified as a bus. If there are only lap belts in the whole thing, kids over 40 lbs. would be exempt from the car seat requirement even if they were under 8 and less than 4'9".

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Jan 9, 2012

• #12

KQ, it exempts passengers in the front seat of a taxi? I thought it was just the driver.

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

Staff member

• Jan 9, 2012

• #13

LISmama810 said:

KQ, it exempts passengers in the front seat of a taxi? I thought it was just the driver.

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Yeah, when I was reading the law last time we looked it up, it says all back-seat passengers in a taxi, unless I misread. It's my understanding that taxis don't take passengers up front for safety reasons, though, so it would be, like, a training situation where someone from the company was riding along, I guess? I mean, I can look it up again, I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that was the wording.

 

K

KaiLing

New member

• Jan 9, 2012

• #14

I think I've been in a taxi in CA twice in my 28 years of living there, but I've ridden in the front of lots of taxis other places. If you go to the airport with three other people that's where the fourth person rides. Maybe CA keeps passengers out of the front seat but that would be different from other US locations (or I've taken sketchy taxis to airports).

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Jan 9, 2012

• #15

This specifically refers to passengers in the front seat needing a seatbelt, unless I'm reading it wrong: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc27315.htm

Also, cab drivers are only allowed to be beltless when they have a passenger, in case anyone cares

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

Staff member

• Jan 9, 2012

• #16

Maybe it's only that if a child rides in the front seat of a taxi, he doesn't need a CR? Which would be kind of contradictory with the rest of the law. Now I'm trying to find where I read that before, and can't. Maybe I was conflating two paragraphs... Weird.

As for passengers, here you generally don't pick up a cab on the street, you call ahead for one; they ask how many passengers and send a minivan if it's more than 3, usually. I was told by my minivan-driving cab-driver friend (we lived in the same apartment complex) he wasn't allowed to take more passengers than he had back seats for security reasons. But maybe that was only HIS company...