Light weight & portable child restraints for taxi travel.

weejeanie · Jan 11, 2008

Since moving to Singapore we no longer use a car. We now travel by extensively by public tyransport and by taxi.

We have two young girls, 20 months and the other is 3. I am very concerned that they have no appropriate restraints when in a taxi apart from the adult seatbelts which I believe will do little in an accident!

I have been looking for a suitable travel harness or vest that is light weight & easy to use.

I did find very mixed reviews on the Eddie Bauer Portable Carseat.

I am hoping to find something a little less bulky than the Ride Safer Travel Harness.

Can anyone give me any suggestions?

Also I have been putting the 20 month in her papoose facing into me & then fitting the seat belt on me but underneath her. Would she be safer in the normal seat belt? I feel i'm between the devil and the deep blue sea!

Please Help!

Wee Jeanie

LuvBug · Jan 13, 2008

do the taxis always have seatbelts? Are the lap only, or lap and shoulder? How much do your kids weigh?

NZ Child Restraints · Jan 13, 2008

weejeanie said:
Also I have been putting the 20 month in her papoose facing into me & then fitting the seat belt on me but underneath her. Would she be safer in the normal seat belt? I feel i'm between the devil and the deep blue sea!

Please Help!

Wee Jeanie

What are the laws over there?
In reference to your comment above that method of restaining is poor. The child would become squashed between your body and the belt if you were ever in an accident. The body weight becomes much greater in an accident and that thing the child is in, is NOT a child restraint.

At 20 months she would be safer in a car seat. Why not a cosco scenera?
Are you asking about car seats in S'pore or elsehwere?

spcamno · Jan 13, 2008

Not an expert but have you pay attention to the Radian?

With the age of both your children I would definitely put the 3 yrs old in a 5 pt harness and whether rear facing is feasible or not for the 20 mths on public transit is up to the situation and what you travelling in.

There are two Radians one 65 and the other 80 both are folderable and quite easy to carry (not sure if one person can manage carry two though).

May be someone can come up with a better solution but this is what I can think of currently.

Defrost · Jan 14, 2008

The portable Eddie Bauer is a pain and definitely not ideal, but it may be your only option.

Your 20 mo is too young for the Ride Safer. Also, if the taxis have lap-only seat belts, the Ride Safer requires a top-tether, which I'm guessing is pretty uncommon over there?

The Radians are somewhat easier to transport because they fold, but they are heavy and can be difficult to install in many vehicles.

TXAggieTech · Jan 14, 2008

Does anyone know if the Romer Vario (Britax Laptop) is available where she is? That may be a super easy solution for the 3 YO.

singingpond · Jan 14, 2008

NZ Child Restraints said:
What are the laws over there?
In reference to your comment above that method of restaining is poor. The child would become squashed between your body and the belt if you were ever in an accident. The body weight becomes much greater in an accident and that thing the child is in, is NOT a child restraint.

I think the OP said she puts the seatbelt against her own body, but under the child, so the child would not be squashed between the mother and the seatbelt. However, the child would be restrained only by whatever the carrier material is, which isn't ideal of course.

Oh, and I saw some people mention the Radian -- I can't really imagine that as practical, with two children, in and out of taxis and other public transport, in a hectic big-city environment?? Sorry, I can't contribute anything useful to the OP, since I don't know much about the various travel vests...

Katrin

RubysGirl · Jan 14, 2008

What about a Sit and stroll? it's bulky, but doubles as a stroller for your little one, then use a ridesafer or romer vario for the older child?

RubysGirl · Jan 14, 2008

Or what about a Scenera with a cart attached to it? I know they're not supposed to be installed with the cart attached, but given the situation it would be better than what's currently used.

crunchierthanthou · Jan 14, 2008

RubysGirl said:
What about a Sit and stroll? it's bulky, but doubles as a stroller for your little one, then use a ridesafer or romer vario for the older child?

I've found the sit and stroll can be a difficult installation in even the most straightforward of vehicles. It's neither a good stroller nor a good option for a carseat. You'd think a seat that had to be reinstalled every trip would be easier to use. :shrug-shoulders:

What seats are available to you in singapore?

I'd probably lean toward a Britax Roundabout for the baby. It's easy to travel with and installs quickly in almost any vehicle. Radians are slim, but heavy and can be a difficult install and tight fit rf.

The RSTV and Laptop/vario are good suggestions for the older child if you don't want to transport the bulk of an actual carseat.

Ogreenlee · Jan 14, 2008

I've often wondered what folks in big cities use as restraints. I just assumed they took chances. Hopefully traffic doesn't move fast enough and is heavy enough that they don't get up to speeds over 20mph.

I certainly can't imagine using a regular sized carseat in those situations. It would certainly keep me bound to the house if I had to use one.

crunchierthanthou · Jan 14, 2008

Ogreenlee said:
I've often wondered what folks in big cities use as restraints. I just assumed they took chances. Hopefully traffic doesn't move fast enough and is heavy enough that they don't get up to speeds over 20mph.

I certainly can't imagine using a regular sized carseat in those situations. It would certainly keep me bound to the house if I had to use one.

I think they use public transportation more than anything. Taxis in some cities are exempt from carseat laws, however the laws of physics still apply. You can ride with your children unrestrained, but I wouldn't risk it.

Victorious4 · Jan 14, 2008

We're a no-car family, too

But, my child is almost 6 yrs old & we're in the U.S.

We mostly use the city bus (some of ours have lap belts, but otherwise we generally sit towards the back -- I look for a location with a tall seatback in front of it) When riding with friends, we use the Ride Safer Travel Vest if they have lap+shoulder belts and/or center top tether ... or we use the Britax Laptop (Romer Vario) for lap only belts ... or we use the Compass B510 folding booster as a last resort (due to having to carry other items, too)

For a 20 month old in taxis, I think the Cosco Scenera could be a great choice if you have a carrying bag for it: lightweight, affordable + reasonably easy to install in most vehicles! My only other considerations would be the Graco SafeSeat Step1 (depending on your budget & how well kiddo fits of course) or the dreaded Tote-N-Go: this seat is pretty much impossible to achieve a correct installation with in almost every vehicle, but it is safer than riding unrestrained or on someone's lap. Absolute worse case scenario, such as no seatbelts whatsoever in the vehicle, I might have to make the choice to merely sit kiddo in the back floor area at my feet to hopefully help prevent her from being ejected in a crash

The Radian is just too heavy for me to lug it + everything else, especially considering that it too is relatively unlikely to fit the vehicle correcly.

katiesmommy · Jan 14, 2008

We are currently working with no car in Japan. Of course, I do only have one child, but I just install her decathlon anytime we are in a vehicle, and we take our large bulky stroller with us. It's an old stroller that used to be part of a travel system so it's got a solid plastic bar on the front, and our carseat fits on it perfectly. The base sits almost all the way down on the seat. Very solidly.

weejeanie · Jan 20, 2008

LuvBug03 said:
do the taxis always have seatbelts? Are the lap only, or lap and shoulder? How much do your kids weigh?

Hi there , Yes taxis usually do have seat belts. In the back seats there are 2 shoulder type belts with a lap belt in the middle. The girls weigh in around 11kg & 15kg. Whatever system I hope to get has to be very portable & ideally relatively easy to use! Taxi's are exempt from normal car safety legislation. Any advice will be gratefully recieved!

Many thanks!

Wee Jeanie

weejeanie · Jan 20, 2008

HI there,

Many thanks to all those very interesting replies & suggestions in response to my thread! They were all very gratefully recieved. I am well aware that our way of travelling is far from ideal. Especially when used to having a car back in Scotland with carefully selected carseats for the girls.

I am surprised that there seems to be such a difficulty in finding an easy, portable & light weight system to use when travelling by taxi.

Even many of the lightweight foldable options seem to be impractical. How on earth can you manage at your destination, with 2 carseats, a child in a buggy, a 3 year old plus all the compulsary baggage that goes with the smallest of journeys to anywhere to do anything with 2 young children?

Anyway I will begin to search out some of the suggestions & find out if obtainable in Singapore.

So many thanks again!

Happy Travels folks!

Wee Jeanie

TXAggieTech · Jan 21, 2008

Your older child would fit in the Romer Vario. It is for 15-25 KG. If you have problems finding one try buying off of ebay.de and having it shipped.

The Cosco Scenera is pretty easy to install and is light weight.

in8mom · Feb 5, 2008

I.SO.FEEL.YOUR.PAIN!!!!

We just relocated to S'pore as well and have been facing this dilemma. It's a crazy adjustment for sure.

The issue with "carseats" is that most drivers do not have the patience for one to install the seat, then buckle the child in.. only to have them arrive at their destination in 6 minutes.

The other issue is that carrying a carseat around the malls aren't really condusive to all the other gear you already have packed up. Imagine living in NY city and lugging the monstrosity of a carseat into the cab from Gramercy Park to Central Park (because you're running late for a playdate), walking to the 96th st station so you can meet a friend for a quick bite at Nicole Farhi and since you're there, you might as well do a little shopping in the area and then trying to hail a taxi and getting your child(ren), diaper bag, stroller and shopping bags into the taxi during rush hour... because you can't stand trying to get back on the jam packed train...

The Eddie Bauer travel seat seems the best option but again, it's whether the cab drivers will allow you the time to install it before they're off and zig zagging through the streets.

I have been desperately searching for a Joey Safe harness but looks like they've stopped distributing it-- their website has been down for months now. While I know it's shocking for most, it's the next best thing to allowing a child to sit with a lap or lap/shoulder belt alone or even in your lap.

Until we get our own car (which is still several months out), we won't have the luxury or peace of mind of our Britax.

ketchupqueen · Jan 12, 2009

Do any of the cars have top tether anchors? If so could you call ahead and ask for one specifically with top tethers? If so, you could use the SafeGuard GO. But it requires tether use, so impractical if you don't have a car with tether anchors.

Gypsy · Jan 12, 2009

ketchupqueen said:
Do any of the cars have top tether anchors? If so could you call ahead and ask for one specifically with top tethers? If so, you could use the SafeGuard GO. But it requires tether use, so impractical if you don't have a car with tether anchors.

I agree, and frankly I think this is the best option for *both* girls, even though ideally the 20 month old would still be rear facing, the GO would be a HUGE improvement on safety from how she is traveling right now. It's also the lightest & most portable child restraint I am aware of (the Eddie Bauer "vest" doesn't count!) other than the RSTV which mom already said she isn't interested in.

I don't know the vehicle requirements there though and because it installs so easily with LATCH and requires a top tether, I don't know if it's an option.

Light weight & portable child restraints for taxi travel.

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