Car Seats required in Miami Taxis?

[PR Cruisers]

I am going to Miami next August and want to know, taxis in Miami required car seats for childs under 2?

 

If they are required, what can I do for transportation in Miami with my 15 month DD if I do not have a car seat with me?

[CaribbeanCrush]

I am going to Miami next August and want to know, taxis in Miami required car seats for childs under 2?

 

If they are required, what can I do for transportation in Miami with my 15 month DD if I do not have a car seat with me?

 

We had a short taxi ride last year with our 5 yr. old granddaughter and 6 mo. grandson. The driver didn't require us to have a booster or car seat.

[matj2000]

They don't care..

[uksimonusa]

They don't care..

 

They don't care, but Florida Law does and so should parents

[ck53]

Some taxis do make you have a car seat, it is a fine for them if they get caught. Buy one and bring it w/ you and you can resell it later when you get home.Driving around Miami can be hectic and I would not take a chance w/ my child. Be safe!

[BrooklynCruiser]

Sorry, have to disagree with the other posters. This is based on personal experience - the enforcement policy changed around July of last year. Here is a link to a similar discussion a few weeks ago, including my input:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1115965&highlight=

[vtoria98]

Honestly, whether or not the taxi driver cares should not be an issue. Driving in Miami is hazardous and I have never heard aonyone say "wow that cab driver sure was cautious and courteous". Why would you risk your childs safety in the backseat of a cab with no car seat? Do you let your husband drive you around at home while you are holding your child in the back seat? Small children and anything not buckled in can become projectiles in a vehicle accident. That would be a bad way to start your vacation.

[asylum575]

We were in Miami last April, no problem.

 

We took another cruise AUgust and NO ONE would take us with DS5 and DD2 without a carseat. We took Suppershuttle to the Hotel from the airport for $50 instead of $24 flat taxi fare.

 

We are flying into Tampa next month and we have arranged a shuttle.

 

I understand the safety issue and they are right.

 

When we were in Cozumel last year, I noticed the taxis DID NOT have seat belts so a car seat would be useless there.

 

Just stick with vans and shuttles.

[CaribbeanCrush]

Honestly, whether or not the taxi driver cares should not be an issue. Driving in Miami is hazardous and I have never heard aonyone say "wow that cab driver sure was cautious and courteous". Why would you risk your childs safety in the backseat of a cab with no car seat? Do you let your husband drive you around at home while you are holding your child in the back seat? Small children and anything not buckled in can become projectiles in a vehicle accident. That would be a bad way to start your vacation.

 

In our case it was a 5 minute ride through downtown to the port. No way would would have considered going without on the highway.

[waterbug123]

In our case it was a 5 minute ride through downtown to the port. No way would would have considered going without on the highway.

 

Accidents can happen anywhere on any road. It doesn't have to be a highway.

[temple1]

If you are flying to the port aren't you bringing a carseat from home for the flight?

[matj2000]

I wouldn't drag around a car seat for a 10min cab ride. I don't think I wore a seat belt till I was 25. In fact I don't know anyone who did till about 1990ish. Everyone I know made it ok....But then again, I don't wear a helmet on a bicycle either.

[barbgazz]

I wouldn't bother with one either. I guess I remember what we did before laws dictated our behavior.

[Maryscooking]

We were in Miami last April, no problem.

I understand the safety issue and they are right.

 

<snip>

 

Just stick with vans and shuttles.

 

I don't understand this - why is a van or shuttle without a car seat any safer than a cab without one?

[Maryscooking]

I know the risk of anything happening seems very small when compared to the hassle of dragging the carseat around.

 

We juggled our carseat from the airport parking shuttle, through the airport, onto the plane, back through the airport, onto and off the hotel shuttle, onto and off the shuttle to the ship the next day, onto the ship (did not do any driving in port), and then the whole thing minus the hotel in reverse. We installed and uninstalled our carseat six times that trip.

 

My husband is a firefighter/paramedic, and also works part time at a children's hospital - he wouldn't do it any other way.

[Maryscooking]

....But then again, I don't wear a helmet on a bicycle either.

 

This is from my husband, who says it is really ironic that you make that comparison because before he got his job, he thought bike helmets were dorky, wouldn't wear one and said he would never make his kids wear them. Honestly, he sounded just like your post.

 

Flash forward to the first time he works on a kid with a traumatic brain injury from a simple bicycle accident. And then again, and again, and again. And then another time, when he has to hunt 100 feet through a field to find the body of a teenager who flew through his windshield when his car went off the road and hit a tree. And console the father who showed up at the scene.

 

So yeah, he is now the dad that put the helmet on his two year old when she rode on her sit and scoot train - you know, get her used to it early :D. And he is that dad who dragged the carseat everywhere on vacation.

[asylum575]

I don't understand this - why is a van or shuttle without a car seat any safer than a cab without one?

 

 

A van/shuttle doesn't have the same carseat requirements because of their size. A larger vehicle like a shuttle/van can absorb the impact in a collision better than a passenger vehicle(taxi) can. In any collision, a child is safer in a carseat. If you're not going to bring a carseat, at least go with a safer choice than a passenger vehicle.