car seats in taxis

I am planning a trip including my five year old son to Niagara falls
next weekend. We are flying into Niagra Falls International Airport
(IAG) and plan to stay only for the day. The problem is how to get
from the airport to the falls and back. The natural choice is a taxi,
but what do we do with the car seat once we get there? I'd rather not
carry it around all day. We could of course rent a car, but that
seems like an overkill just to create a place to put the car seat. Is
there any place to store a car seat near the falls? Is there any other
reasonable transportation from IAG to the falls for five adults and
two children that will not require a car seat (we can always leave it
on the plane)? or am I overly cautious in thinking we need a car seat
for two ten minute taxi rides?

Jeff H, CP-AM&SEL, CFII

J. Hansen ) wrote:

I am planning a trip including my five year old son to Niagara falls
next weekend.

I faced this exact dilemma two weeks ago with my soon-to-be-five year old
and a six year old. The four of us (wife included) flew to Niagara Falls
for the day and I also wondered about the need for a car seat for the ten
minute ride from the airport to the Falls tourist area.

After talking with a State Trooper friend, I learned that car seats are not
required once the child is over 40 pounds and four years old in NY state,
so legally there was no issue.

So, the decision came down to an issue of safety. In the end, we decided
that as long as the boys were buckled up in the taxi with lap belts and
shoulder straps and they were placed on the left and right side of the back
seats (no center seating for them), they would be relatively safe.

Note that in our case, the taxi took the highway for a portion of the ride
from the airport to the Falls area, although I suppose you could request a
route through the residential area (which is what our driver did for the
return trip).

Since we wanted to see the Canadian side, we cabbed it right to Rainbow
Bridge, then walked over the bridge to the Canadian side. Otherwise the
cab ride would have been much more expensive and, given the traffic at
customs, just as long as the ten minute walk. On the other side we
flagged a Canadian cab to to the falls overlook.

Just be aware that the pedestrian portion of Rainbow bridge has only a four
foot high railing to keep one from tumbling to the river below, so we kept
our children close.

--
Peter

"J. Hansen" wrote in message
om...
[...] Is there any other
reasonable transportation from IAG to the falls for five adults and
two children that will not require a car seat (we can always leave it
on the plane)? or am I overly cautious in thinking we need a car seat
for two ten minute taxi rides?

As far as safety goes, I guess that depends on how big your five year old is
and whether he is safe under a regular lap belt. Any occupants MUST be
safely secured, even for two ten minute taxi rides. Whether you need a car
seat to do this or not, I can't say, not knowing enough about your
situation.

As far as the taxi ride goes...you mention five adults and two children, so
a) I don't know how old the other child is, and b) I don't see how all those
people will fit into a single sedan. You must either be talking about
multiple taxis or a van or something like that, right?

Here in the Seattle area, there are taxi companies that have their own car
seats. It's possible one or more of the taxi providers in Niagra Falls also
can provide car seats. Certainly it would be worth calling around and
asking. Make sure they not only have car seats, but they have car seats
that will fit the child (children) you have with you.

Pete

"Peter R." wrote in message

So, the decision came down to an issue of safety. In the end, we decided
that as long as the boys were buckled up in the taxi with lap belts and
shoulder straps and they were placed on the left and right side of the
back
seats (no center seating for them), they would be relatively safe.

You know, I'm fairly certain we all grew up just fine without kiddie car
seats, (and bike helmets, and...) so it's not like it's terribly unsafe. At
least, it's no more unsafe for your child than it was ten years ago before
car seats were ubiqitous. In fact it could be argued that the vehicles
themselves are inherently safer than they were when we were standing in the
middle of the bench seat of dad's old pickup so we could see over the
dashboard.

Remember those days?

When I rode in Nine-O-Nine with my grandfather, which was the first time
he'd flown in one since crashing on 14 Oct 1943, I had to show HIM how to
attach the seatbelts. "We never had these damned things," he said.

-c

"gatt" wrote in message
...
You know, I'm fairly certain we all grew up just fine without kiddie car
seats, (and bike helmets, and...) so it's not like it's terribly unsafe.

What an odd statement.

All of the folks who flew in B-17s during WWII who might today write a
statement similar to yours managed to come out of it okay too. Does that
mean that being part of the crew on a B-17 over Germany is not "terribly
unsafe"?

Alternatively, instead of being "fairly certain we all grew up just fine
without kiddie car seats", you should consider the children who did NOT grow
up just fine, but instead were killed in a car accident that they would have
survived had they been in a car seat. There were a lot more of those kids
thirty years ago than there are today.

Pete

On 14 May 2004 09:35:54 -0700, (J. Hansen) wrote:

am I overly cautious in thinking we need a car seat
for two ten minute taxi rides

New York state does not require a car seat for a five-year old. (Under
four is the rule.)

www.nydmv.state.ny.us/dmvfaqs.htm

Jay, my wife and I drove across the United States and back with our
daughter (six months outbound, eight months returning) in a wicker
basket on the floor of a Volkswagen camper. (In Tucson on the way
back, we bought a couple yards of army surplus mosquito netting to tie
over the basket, since she had learned to stand up meanwhile.)

Now a mother herself, our daughter obsesses about car seats. Like
bicycle and skiing helmets, I think it's all much overblown. I'd like
to see her put as much devotion into making the children wash their
hands.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

There were a lot more of those kids
thirty years ago than there are today.

Are there really?

And what in the end is the difference between a one-in-a-million
chance and a one-in-999,999 chance?

Personally, I have never been involved in a collision in 55 years of
driving. I faithfully buckle up every time I get in the car, but I
know in my heart that it is a waste of time. By now I must have spent
*days* of my life buckling up.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

On Fri, 14 May 2004 13:14:57 -0700, "Peter Duniho"
wrote:

Alternatively, instead of being "fairly certain we all grew up just fine
without kiddie car seats", you should consider the children who did NOT grow
up just fine, but instead were killed in a car accident that they would have
survived had they been in a car seat. There were a lot more of those kids
thirty years ago than there are today.

Pete


Oh really, I can't think of a single one. I never lost a friend in a
car wreck until I got to be a teenager.

Mike Weller
"You'll put someone's eye out with that BB gun."

In fifteen years as a paramedic, I have never unbuckled a dead body. I
have thrown a sheet over more than a few who didnt. Buckling up is safer
than not doing so. Car seat belts are designed for adults. Child Car
Seats are designed to restain children. You use the right tool for the
right job.

Dave

Mike Weller wrote:

On Fri, 14 May 2004 13:14:57 -0700, "Peter Duniho"
wrote:


Alternatively, instead of being "fairly certain we all grew up just fine
without kiddie car seats", you should consider the children who did NOT grow
up just fine, but instead were killed in a car accident that they would have
survived had they been in a car seat. There were a lot more of those kids
thirty years ago than there are today.

Pete



Oh really, I can't think of a single one. I never lost a friend in a
car wreck until I got to be a teenager.

Mike Weller
"You'll put someone's eye out with that BB gun."

Personally, I have never been involved in a collision in 55 years of
driving.


I've never had a plane fall apart on me, but i still preflight. In fact, I
spend more time preflighting an airplane than I do buckling my seatbelt in the
car.

Jose


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