The safety of a child in a car is an extremely important issue and concerns every parent or guardian. Transporting children by car requires us to follow specific rules to ensure maximum safety and comfort during the journey.
In this article, we will discuss the rules for transporting children by car, including: is it possible to legally transport a child without a car seat and how to choose the right car seat for a child. In addition, we will consider the advantages of using taxi services for families with children and what should be paid attention to when taking a course with a child in a taxi.
We will also tell you where to order a taxi with a car seat and what are the advantages of using the "Taking children to school by taxi" service.
Child in the car - what are the rules for transporting children by car?
Traffic regulations are clear: every child under 150 cm and 36 kg in weight must be transported in a car seat or other restraint. After the introduction of EU guidelines into Polish law, the age criteria were abolished.
So, no problem, if your child is over 150 cm tall, he can travel without an additional seat. The regulations also work the other way, when, for example, your child, despite the age of 12, did not exceed 150 cm in height - he still has to travel on a stand ("so-called poddupniku").
Each child within the height range of 135 - 150 cm, when transported in the back seat, can be restrained using seat belts, i.e. without a car seat and restraint system, if due to the weight and height of this child, it is not possible to provide him with a proper devices.
This means that there is no need to use the seat for a child between 135 - 150 cm tall, whose body weight exceeds 36 kg, i.e. the legal maximum weight for a child restraint system.
It is also possible for a child to sit in the front seat of the vehicle, although it is not the safest place in the car. However, you should follow the rule - move in the seat.
Another exception to the general rules for transporting children in a passenger car and a small truck, it is allowed to transport a third child (at least 3 years old) in the back seat, restrained by the vehicle's seat belts, when two children are transported in child seats installed in the rear seat and there is no possibility to install a third one.
This derogates from the requirement when, due to size, you are unable to fit a third car seat.
I also recommend that you familiarize yourself with the regulations regarding the transport of children in other countries.
Can you legally transport a child without a car seat?
Yes, but the list of exceptions to this requirement is limited. Nevertheless, I encourage the use of car seats and other devices that increase the safety of small travelers. Even when we are released from this obligation.
The car seat does not need to be used:
During a taxi ride;
In a specialized sanitary transport vehicle;
During the journey in a vehicle of the Police, Border Guard or municipal (municipal) guard;
In buses and coaches not equipped with seat belts and in means of urban transport;
On the plane and on the train;
When the child has a medical contraindication to use the seat (you must have the documentation with you);
When the child has exceeded 135 cm in height and 36 kg in weight.
What are the advantages of using taxi services for families with children?
Safety first. The taxi is one of the safest means of individual transport. Recently, a lot of confusion in this topic has been introduced by companies dealing with the transport of people. These companies impersonate a taxi, misleading passengers. These are companies with a multi-billion budget for lobbying and marketing, which is why they settled on the Polish market very quickly.
In this guide, when we write about a taxi, we mean a real, traditional, 100% legal taxi corporation. It can be a company with a long tradition and over a hundred drivers cooperating with it, and it can also be a small local, often family company with several cars.
The common denominator, however, will be a 100% legal business model, all licenses and an impeccable reputation.
So if a parent chooses a taxi for transport, he or she has a guarantee of a safe journey.
This happens for several reasons:
A professional driver must meet a number of formal requirements, such as no criminal record and no complaints at the city / commune office.
A professional driver regularly undergoes medical examinations, checking the most important aspects of his physical, mental and motor health.
In addition, each corporation has its own internal requirements and functionaries responsible for compliance with these requirements.
Taxi drivers are usually experienced specialists who know the city well. They have already experienced many potentially dangerous situations on the roads. This is an underestimated experience that can only be seen in extreme situations when milliseconds count for a knee-jerk reaction.
Choosing a taxi is also convenient thanks to many aspects:
You do not have to use a car seat - Polish law allows it, unlike traveling with companies that do not have a Taxi license.
Taxi service is door pick-up and door-to-door delivery, even when entering certain restricted traffic areas.
A taxi means no worries about a parking space.
Many taxi companies allow you to transport children to school. You order a ride for your child and you don't have to worry. Depending on the company, you will receive an SMS notification that the child has gone to school or you will have GPS transmissions from the ride.
What do you need to know about transporting children in taxis?
As already mentioned, Taxi means safety and certainty of transport. We as a company care about it very much and at the same time, through numerous information campaigns and running this blog, we promote good practices in this business.
You as a parent, choosing a good taxi corporation, can be sure that when transporting the youngest, we always try to be even better than we are. For us taxi drivers, the youngest are always the most important customers. These are our future adult passengers.
However, when traveling by taxi, apart from the duties imposed on the driver, there are also duties and good practices that should be followed by small passengers and their guardians.
I will list the most important ones here:
When placing your order, state that you will be traveling with a child. Even when it is not legally required, the head office will often ask if a car seat or a booster seat will be useful.
When you need to take a baby stroller with you, inform the taxi dispatcher about it. The company will send a suitable car with a larger trunk.
During the journey, it is worth making sure that children behave calmly in the car. I know perfectly well that this is the most difficult of all requests that we drivers can have. Often regularly performing courses with children, they have a mascot for the youngest.
Asking for peace in the car is something that will pay off in the future. When the young generation grows up, it will realize that sometimes you need to calm down a bit, because it just happens that way, just like in public transport.
It is not appropriate to eat while driving. This also applies to the youngest. Now we are traveling with children, and the next customer may be a bank employee in a suit. It would be a pity if he had crisps glued to his pants ... It is also worth noting that many children may have stomach ailments while driving a car.
Absolutely never, no driver will tell a woman who is breastfeeding not to. However, it is an activity that still arouses a lot of controversy. Sometimes it is worth to warn the driver, especially from the older generation, that in a moment he will see a piece of an exposed breast ;) Personally, I think that these few minutes in a taxi are the best time to feed a child.
As a passenger, don't be afraid to point out that the temperature in the vehicle is not right or the airflow is directed directly at your child. The driver will certainly adjust everything to make the journey comfortable. This also applies to music that is too loud or too quiet. I am aware that some children fall asleep when loud rock is playing from the speakers ;)
What should you pay attention to when doing a course with a child in a taxi
This point is dedicated to drivers, especially to young people who are just entering this profession. Children are always our most important customers. Today they travel with their parents, but one day they will order taxis themselves.
A taxi ride is supposed to be fondly remembered in the eyes of a child for years. Many studies show that we do not remember specific events so much as the emotions that accompanied them. If your child travels these few kilometers with you with a smile on his face, you can be sure that he will associate it with something positive that is worth using in the future.
Remember that when you are traveling with your child, you need to do your work even more gently, even more smoothly and accurately. In the eyes of the parent, any nervous movement of the steering wheel will be perceived as a potential danger. Remember that one day you too can be a parent or remember what it was like when you were traveling with your children.
As the first of your tasks - make sure that everything is as it should be: whether the seat belts are well adjusted, whether it is comfortable, whether the music is not too loud, whether the air conditioning is not working too intensively. Ask about everything, because sometimes it can be stupid to pay attention to someone, even though in their minds they are just waiting for them to get out of the car.
When a child behaves inappropriately, sometimes it's better to wave your hand at it, believe me that sometimes a parent has no strength for them. I'm sure he would have noticed it otherwise.
There is only one exception - when a child starts to play with the door handle or window opening button - it is absolutely necessary to remind the guardian of this. Even though you have the door lock on, you can never be 100% sure if it works. This 1% is enough and it can become a tragedy.
Similarly, it should be required that children sit calmly in the seats, if possible, be fastened with seat belts (at least in the lap section).
When a parent travels with a toddler, it would be good if he was fastened himself, and the young passenger would sit on the parent's lap. It is the safest form of transport without a car seat. In the event of an accident, the parent will hold the child.
How to choose a child seat?
Another point that is addressed to taxi drivers. Parents have probably read dozens of better guides by now.
You, as a driver, need to know one thing: the seat is selected for the weight and height of the child, not for its age. Take my word for it: 2-4 year olds can differ by almost 50%.
Basically, car seats are divided into:
"Group 0" carriers - for newborns up to 10 kg in weight; usually by about nine months of age.
"Group 0+" carriers - for babies up to about 13 kg; As a rule, the child grows out of the carrier around 18 months of age.
As a driver, you need to know that newborns and infants are always the most vulnerable when transporting children. Their spines are not yet adapted to hold the head firmly, and the neck muscles are not properly developed.
Even abrupt braking can end tragically for such a baby when it is not transported in the right way.
When using a baby carrier, it must be placed rear-facing. It must be securely fastened with the seat belts.
Carriers with bases fixed with the Isofix system are very comfortable.
"Group 1" car seats for children weighing 9 - 18 kg and aged from approximately 8 months to 4 years.
This is one of the most basic car seats that should be in the assortment of every major taxi company. A baby carrier is most often used by a passenger, and a "group 1" car seat is not necessarily. When buying such a car seat, it is worth choosing the most universal model with the greatest number of adjustments. The Isofix mounting system is not rated. A car seat equipped with this system is a minute of stable installation in the car.
"Group 2" seats, commonly known as "poddupniki"; for children from 15 to about 36 kg in weight and 4 - 12 years old.
It should be mentioned here that, according to current regulations, they should be used even in older children (if they are under 150 cm tall or 36 kg in weight).
In practice, it is worth having at least a seat in the trunk. It does not take up much space, and the parent will appreciate that we have it.
Where can you order a taxi with a car seat?
Every major corporation - large or small - offers the possibility of providing a taxi with a car seat. As I mentioned above, for us taxi drivers the comfort of our passengers is important, but the most important thing is always safety.
Beware of companies that do not offer this option. Of course, remember that not every taxi driver always carries a set of necessary accessories in the trunk. If it were so, then every driver would always have in the trunk: a car seat, a carrier, a seat, a transporter for a dog / cat / shura, a canister, a set of keys and so on endlessly ...
However, when you order a ride 2/3 hours in advance, any serious company is able to organize a suitable vehicle tailored to your needs in such time.
In Gdańsk, companies that meet these criteria are such corporations as:
Neptune Taxi
Hello Taxi Gdansk
EcoCar
Elite Taxi
GdanskAirportTaxi
Prestige-Line
Hanza Taxi
Flash Taxi
Most companies ask you to place an order at least 30 minutes in advance.
Advantages of using the service "Taking children to school by taxi"
A lot of taxi corporations specializing in passenger service in the city have introduced the service of transporting children to school.
How is it different from a traditional order?
First of all, the payment is done remotely. If regular ordering is involved, often the bill is issued for the entire month. It is so convenient that you do not have to ask your child to carry cash with him and take care of correct settlements.
When you order a service for the whole month, it is usually priced as a lump sum, and payment will be made in the form of a transfer or Blik for the entire bill.
It is a very convenient and safe solution. More expensive than public transport, but very appreciated by parents whose children have to travel from the countryside to school or when it requires a large number of transfers.
In the West, with the start of the carpooling fashion, combined taxi rides are often ordered (on the basis of picking up a few children on the way).
A friendly company has already performed such services and what I can say: it is very convenient and, above all, financially attractive in this form. You only need to organize a few parents to order such a service.
Seriously, it can be a really financially attractive service to transport children to school on a regular basis.
Summary
The article raises many important issues related to transporting children in taxis. According to the applicable regulations, when we move a private car with a child, it should be transported in a car seat or car seat that is adapted to its age, weight and height and complies with safety standards.
It is illegal to transport a child without a car seat (with a few exceptions) and the driver may face consequences.
Using taxi services can be very beneficial for families with children, especially for longer routes, because they provide convenient and time-saving transport.
When transporting a child in a taxi, remember to order an appropriate seat from the taxi corporation, properly fasten it and ensure that the seat belt is properly secured. You can consult the manufacturers' tables or the safety advisor at your automotive shop to choose the right car seat.
Despite the fact that in Poland there is no obligation to use car seats in a taxi, to increase the child's safety during transport - it is worth ordering a taxi with a car seat, and it is best to use the services of taxi companies specializing in transporting children.
Using the "Taking children to school by taxi" service can be very beneficial for parents, as it provides safe transportation on a fixed route, as well as time savings and convenience.
We encourage you to order taxis with a car seat in order to ensure the safety of the child during transport and the convenience and time saving of parents.