wedding dilemma

My 8 yr old is going to be a flower girl in a wedding this upcoming winter...( she will be 9 at the time of the wedding.)
The bride has asked if I will allow her to ride with the wedding party to the reception in the Limo. I have never been in a limo. Do they have seat belts? Are they safe? My DD usually rides in a Turbo booster ( she's about 4'7" and 50ish #) and I would insist that she be in her booster. Is that possible in a limo?
It is quite a ways to the reception, as it is in a neighboring town (about 30 miles away.)
I am nervous about it because of the snow and ice at that time of year.
(My aunt's pastor's 17 yr old son was just killed in a horrible accident on this road a few weeks ago - He hydroplaned because it was raining and slid off the road into a guardrail.)
The bride said they might be getting a small (luxury) bus instead. Would that be safe(er)? My DD really wants to go with them, but if safety is an issue, I'm afraid she's just going to have to be disappointed.

I am not very familiar with limos but from what I've read online they usually have one forward-facing seat at the rear and side-facing seats on the sides. Lapbelts only on the side seats, possibly shoulderbelts available on the forward-facing seat, but I can't be positive. My first instinct is to insist your dd gets a seat on the forward-facing vehicle seat and use her booster. Everyone else can use the lapbelts (isn't that terrible to want everyone else to be unsafe? But it's your DAUGHTER we're talking about). If there is no shoulderbelt available, though, I'd not let her go in the limo and drive her yourself.

Small buses should have lap/shoulderbelts available (all the ones I've seen for daycare/preschool do).

Last time I was in a limo they had belts like SB described... lap/shoulder outboard in the back, lap only everywhere else...

The kind of busses you can hire around here for weddings and such do not have any belts except for the driver.

I'd insist on a limo for her, and then in one of the rear outboard positions with a shoulder belt. The last time Piper and I rode in one we sat together in one belt (I know, I know, but it was for Nathan's dad's funeral and they told me we needed to come with them AS I was buckling Piper back into her carseat for the three mile trip over to the cemetary. In Jewish funerals just the immediate family goes in a limo, I'd never been part of a Christian family funeral before). I'd maybe toss at least a backless booster in there with her, if not your whole booster since it's easy to transfer. Shouldn't be a problem.

Also, the limos I've been in haven't been big enough to have side seats. They just have two bench seats looking at each other, so I think there were four l/s belts and two lap belts.

Wendy

I've been in several limos and some have had 3 pnt belts in the front facing seat and others had lap belts, the newer ones have 3 pnts. Truthfully, i've never worn one of the seat belts in the limo's i've been in, I tried 2 of the times i've ridden and once the belt was all dirty and i had on a light colors dress and the other the dress i wore had feathers across the top and the seat belt was pulling them out so i took it off. I consider limos fairly safe b/c they rarely get in accidents or drive at high speeds and have every intention of letting my kids ride in the limo at the wedding (how often do they get to ride in a limo until high school?) I would ask the bride if she knows anything about the limo ir if she can call the company and ask about seat belts for you.

One thing before you ask for her to ride in the forward facing seat, be aware thats considered the brides seat b/c its easier to get in and out of with the dress. Some brides are fussy about that b/c of the whole princess thing (i'll be sitting somewhere else in my limo b/c my kids will be in RFing car seats and have to sit in that spot or up front)

I have no idea about crash statistics or the general safety of limos in crashes. Several years ago, some Detroit Red Wings hockey players were in an awful single car crash while riding in a limo after winning the Stanley Cup. The crash ended the career of one of the players, Vladimir Konstatinov (sp?), who was paralyzed and may never walk again. I don't think he was wearing his seatbelt in the limo but don't remember all the details of the crash. IIRC, it turned out the Red Wings' limo driver didn't have the proper license and/or had a bad driving record. The crash made me much more aware of limo safety and the importance of checking out the limo company and how they screen drivers.

Even with a reputable limo company and a driver with an excellent track record, a chance to ride in a limo is outweighed for me by the potential to be hurt or worse due to unrestrained passengers. I think it's highly likely other occupants would not use their seatbelts out of concerns mentioned above (not wanting to wrinkle the dress, a bridal gown with a large skirt or train that impedes seatbelt usage, icky or unavailable seatbelts, etc.) The likelihood of unrestrained passengers (aka human projectiles in the making), and the fact that other unpredictable vehicle drivers also co-exist with the limo on the road, would be deciding factors for me to skip the limo ride.