Travelling with no car seat???

[PuppysMum]

Hi knowledgable people,

Next week (weekend of Fri. June 19, 20 and 21)...DH and I are supposed to be flying to Rockhampton (from Brisbane) for the weekend for a university reunion of mine.

Being clueless new parents, I am currently in the process of working out exactly what to do or how to go about working out what to do about car seats for our newborn, who by then will be 5 weeks old.

Normally we wouldn't worry about hiring a car for the weekend and just take a taxi back and forth to our hotel. BUT then I thought, wait, taxi's don't have child restraints! :(

If we hire a car, it will cost a lot more overall for the trip of course....do hire car companies also hire out car seats?

I'm about to ring the ambulance to see if we can hire a baby capsule for the weekend....but I understand normally there's a wait for a capsule, not to mention we don't know how to install one (guess if we hire one they will show us then and there).

The car seat we have in our car is a convertible one (newborn to 18kg) so once the baby is bigger it gets turned around. We had RACQ install it and it took them a while and looked difficult so there is no way in hell we are taking it OUT of our car LOL. Besides, it's not one you can carry a baby in like a capsule anyway.

Does anyone have experience with this type of situation, and if so what did you do please? Suggestions welcome, thanks heaps in advance! :)

[Ffrenchknickers]

You can generally get a taxi with a baby seat but you need to pre-book them obviously. Car hire companies DO hire out carseats if you choose to go that way.

Failing that, carseats are pretty easy to take out and put in, (we are forever swapping ours around) if you choose to take your own :)

Have a great trip!

[lulu 2]

Ring around as there r plenty of places that do short term capsule hire and there r taxis with car seats and carseat restriant bolts u just have to tell the operator when you book the taxi that you want one and capsules r easy as to fit just slip the belt thru and attach the strap to the restaint hook. One of the places i got got some hire stuff from even had the pram frame to put the capsule in too.

[sweetseven]

I have a reversable carseat, that I take out and put ito cars all the time, depending on whether we are taking my, or DP's car for that trip.

I got a taxi home recently, after a minor car accident (no impact, just damage to the underside from bottoming out), and took out the baby seat and put it in the tax. Unfortunately, the taxi didnt have a restraining bolt, so I had to secure it with seatbelt only. (Though you might also have the same problem with a hire car.)

And you will need to remove your reversable carseat at some point; to adjust the harness settings.

Personally, I would be inclied to take your carseat and simply use it in taxi's. I believe when you book a taxi that you can request one with a restraining bot to anchor your carseat to. There will however be the difficulty of needing to stow the carseat in a cloakroom whilst you attend the function. The other legal option is to look into public transport, because carseats are not required on buses and trains. However that is obviously not the safest option for bub.

[Seacretsquirrel]

If you hire a car for the weekend (which if you go for a small car could be less than the cost of a couple of cab fares anyway. They will beable to supply a carseat so long as you ask when you book - they will not however (or at least in our experience) put the carseat in - I think it comes down to if they do it and you have an accidnet and the child is (god forbid) hurt then they may be liable. Infact the company we used last time couldn't even tell us where the anchor points were (they swore black and blue that the cargo points were the anchor points) so that is another thing to be aware of.

[Luna Lovegood]

Most car hire companies will put in a car seat if requested.

[Jenko]

I would be hiring a car and taking my own seat with me. Alot of people take car seats on the plane.

Then you only have to put it in once (in the hire car) all weekend and you have the car to get around and do other stuff.

You can get taxis with car seats, sometimes they aren't as easy to get though. Plus the other dramas of safety anchors etc...I wouldn't want the extra hassle if you can afford to hire a car for a few days.

Have fun :)

ETA just re-read ur post about racq fitting seat. It does seem hard at first but it's not really. Have a practice at it.

[Me]

If its a uni reunion would any of your old uni friends have kids and be able to loan you a seat for the w/e?

Legally taxis don't require a carseat, however i have(and will again!?) installed my own seat in 1. tbh you'll need to learn 1 day or another how to put a car seat in so now might be a good chance to learn and get a lot of practice in a short period of time. It really is quite simple to do once you know how(most have good instructions in the manual otherwise the store you bought it from might be able to show you).

[lupa]

I'm travelling to Melbourne with a 6 month old. Apparently in taxis if your child is under 1 year you don't need a restraint, just sit them on your lap.

I don't know what the law is in other states.

How old are your children?

[Ffrenchknickers]

I'm travelling to Melbourne with a 6 month old. Apparently in taxis if your child is under 1 year you don't need a restraint, just sit them on your lap.

I don't know what the law is in other states.

How old are your children?

That is the law here in QLD as well and I think so in other states too. It is the most ridiculous law I have ever heard IMO.

[lupa]

you could sit them in a baby bjorn while you're strapped in to be safer? I hear they do that on planes.

[Ffrenchknickers]

you could sit them in a baby bjorn while you're strapped in to be safer? I hear they do that on planes.

:eek: R U being serious?

[HugsBunny]

Ummm... the OP has already had the trip to QLD - it was last weekend :p

[Ffrenchknickers]

Ummm... the OP has already had the trip to QLD - it was last weekend :p

Ahhhh, very good, very good. Carry on :D

[sharonnscotty]

Yep most car hire companies have car seats available. If not simply take yours with you ( i have travelled europe and you are not the only person who collects a car seat from baggage) if not hire one short term while there. Call Qld Ambos for where to hire one. Hope this helps :) and PS i wouldnt be going around with a little one on my lap,,,,, have you seen the way cabbies drive????

[Stretched]

It's probably because taxis are defined as "public transport" too. Airport transfer buses are a cheap way to get into town and you don't need a car seat.

I've also had car hire companies refuse to show us how to install a seat (we had to convince them we wouldn't tell anyone that they'd shown us). But they always have seats available if you book them with your car.

You could try a baby equiment hire company, but there might not be a local one in Rockhampton.

Airlines won't charge extra for you to check your seat in to luggage.

If your seat is really tricky and bulky like mine, see if anyone has a spare seat that they could lend you. Often grandparents have a "cheapie" seat in the garage for just in case, and the cheaper ones are usually lighter and simpler to install.

Don't stress too much. They do things differently all over the world with children in cars. From what I've seen Australia is the most OTT with its safety and regulations. Travelling with bub you just gotta go with the flow and not freak out if everything isn't the way it's "supposed" to be.