6 ms·

Oddly, you get fined in the U.S. for not wearing a seatbelt in the car you're driving ("Click it or ticket!") but I've never heard of someone being cited for no

Oddly, you get fined in the U.S. for not wearing a seatbelt in the car you're driving ("Click it or ticket!") but I've never heard of someone being cited for not wearing one in a cab. Is it because it's the back seat?

po 11y ago
At least in manhattan, the yellow-taxi cab Taxi and Limousine Commission (the TLC I mentioned above) lobbied have an exemption to that law. Same thing with baby carriers. It's illegal to have a baby in a car without a certified car seat, but it's legal in a NYC taxi to just hold them: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#9 http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#9
- ngoede 11y ago
  This seems insane. Especially the later exception.
  - rayiner 11y ago
    It's not. If you're riding in a cab, there's no way you have a baby carrier handy.
    - evan_ 11y ago
      The cab could keep one in the trunk...
      - ulfw 11y ago
        They are not one-size-fits all
        rdl 11y ago
        I wonder how much extra you could charge for having a vehicle in the uber fleet with a variety of child seats, or similarly various handicapped accessories.
        phamilton 11y ago
        Answer is pretty easy to find out: http://blog.uber.com/uberfamily http://blog.uber.com/uberfamily Also: https://shuddle.us/ https://shuddle.us/
        darkmighty 11y ago
        Given that cabs last a long time (i.e. can amortize the cost) it shouldn't be too difficult to make an adjustable child seat eh?
  - anonetal 11y ago
    Why? It would be a major hassle otherwise when visiting cities like SF or NYC if you are not planning to rent a car (if you are, you might be carrying a car seat). I wouldn't be comfortable using a random carseat in the trunk, and in any case, given different age kids require different carseats, it's not really feasible.
    - robryk 11y ago
      Would you be more comfortable using none than using a "random one in the trunk"? I do not really see how a carseat can cause additional harm in an accident.
  - tomcorrigan 11y ago
    Surely its the other way around. It's reasonable to expect all adults to wear a seatbelt in a taxi but not reasonable to expect all taxis to carry child seats. It wouldn't be unusual to expect on occasion for a parent to travel with 3-3 children; should all taxis therefore carry 3 child seats? No. Should all adults travelling in taxis use a seatbelt when one is available and required when travelling in private transport? Surely yes.
    - mentat 11y ago
      When you request a taxi you can specify one with a child seat. Traveling without one is insane if you care about your children surviving a crash.
  - CamperBob2 11y ago
    You can't bubble-wrap the whole world. Please don't try.
    - mikeash 11y ago
      Making it so babies aren't dying from minor traffic accidents is not bubble wrapping the whole world.
      - CamperBob2 11y ago
        Yes, it is. Read the other replies, specifically the ones pointing out that child seats are not one-size-fits-all.
        mikeash 11y ago
        I do not enjoy your implication that the only way I could possibly disagree with you is if I'm ignorant.
        CamperBob2 11y ago
        (Shrug) I don't enjoy your implication that you should be allowed to re-engineer society singlehandedly. We'll have to agree to disagree.
        mikeash 11y ago
        I'm pretty sure I implied nothing of the sort.
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
        CamperBob2 11y ago
        Well, same here.
    - 11y ago
sgustard 11y ago
Front & rear seat belt laws vary by state; here's a summary of each state law, though it doesn't mention the taxi exemption. http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/seatbelt_laws.html http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/seatbelt_laws.html
lawl 11y ago
In Switzerland the driver has to make sure all passengers have their seatbelt on or they will also get fined. Cab drivers here won't drive if you don't put it on. Seems like a good solution to me.
- speeder 11y ago
  Here in Brazil the law is like that too. I had a girlfriend that got fined once because of me :( (I forgot to put the seatbelt while I was in her car)

po 11y ago

At least in manhattan, the yellow-taxi cab Taxi and Limousine Commission (the TLC I mentioned above) lobbied have an exemption to that law. Same thing with baby carriers. It's illegal to have a baby in a car without a certified car seat, but it's legal in a NYC taxi to just hold them: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#9 http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#9

ngoede 11y ago
This seems insane. Especially the later exception.
- rayiner 11y ago
  It's not. If you're riding in a cab, there's no way you have a baby carrier handy.
  - evan_ 11y ago
    The cab could keep one in the trunk...
    - ulfw 11y ago
      They are not one-size-fits all
      - rdl 11y ago
        I wonder how much extra you could charge for having a vehicle in the uber fleet with a variety of child seats, or similarly various handicapped accessories.
        phamilton 11y ago
        Answer is pretty easy to find out: http://blog.uber.com/uberfamily http://blog.uber.com/uberfamily Also: https://shuddle.us/ https://shuddle.us/
      - darkmighty 11y ago
        Given that cabs last a long time (i.e. can amortize the cost) it shouldn't be too difficult to make an adjustable child seat eh?
- anonetal 11y ago
  Why? It would be a major hassle otherwise when visiting cities like SF or NYC if you are not planning to rent a car (if you are, you might be carrying a car seat). I wouldn't be comfortable using a random carseat in the trunk, and in any case, given different age kids require different carseats, it's not really feasible.
  - robryk 11y ago
    Would you be more comfortable using none than using a "random one in the trunk"? I do not really see how a carseat can cause additional harm in an accident.
- tomcorrigan 11y ago
  Surely its the other way around. It's reasonable to expect all adults to wear a seatbelt in a taxi but not reasonable to expect all taxis to carry child seats. It wouldn't be unusual to expect on occasion for a parent to travel with 3-3 children; should all taxis therefore carry 3 child seats? No. Should all adults travelling in taxis use a seatbelt when one is available and required when travelling in private transport? Surely yes.
  - mentat 11y ago
    When you request a taxi you can specify one with a child seat. Traveling without one is insane if you care about your children surviving a crash.
- CamperBob2 11y ago
  You can't bubble-wrap the whole world. Please don't try.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    Making it so babies aren't dying from minor traffic accidents is not bubble wrapping the whole world.
    - CamperBob2 11y ago
      Yes, it is. Read the other replies, specifically the ones pointing out that child seats are not one-size-fits-all.
      - mikeash 11y ago
        I do not enjoy your implication that the only way I could possibly disagree with you is if I'm ignorant.
        CamperBob2 11y ago
        (Shrug) I don't enjoy your implication that you should be allowed to re-engineer society singlehandedly. We'll have to agree to disagree.
        mikeash 11y ago
        I'm pretty sure I implied nothing of the sort.
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
        CamperBob2 11y ago
        Well, same here.
  - 11y ago

sgustard 11y ago

Front & rear seat belt laws vary by state; here's a summary of each state law, though it doesn't mention the taxi exemption. http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/seatbelt_laws.html http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/seatbelt_laws.html

lawl 11y ago

In Switzerland the driver has to make sure all passengers have their seatbelt on or they will also get fined. Cab drivers here won't drive if you don't put it on. Seems like a good solution to me.

speeder 11y ago
Here in Brazil the law is like that too. I had a girlfriend that got fined once because of me :( (I forgot to put the seatbelt while I was in her car)