Q&A: car seats for people without cars

Mia writes:

"I have a question for you about car safety.

Living in a big city with excellent public transportation we are very lucky and happy to be able to live without owning a car. We do however from time to time rent a car, go for a ride with car-owning friends or take a taxi and do for these instances need a car seat for our 13-month old son. Even though he is on the small side at 18 pounds and some odd ounces he is outgrowing his infant car seat and we are looking to replace it. And here comes our conundrum: with what? I am at a loss when I try to figure out what kind of seat would suit us best among the plethora of rear-facing seats, forward-facing seats, convertible (into what?) seats, booster seats, seats with bases and seats without bases and so on and so forth. Our number one concern is of course safety, but weight, price and how easy it is to install/uninstall is also important to us."

I'm right there with you in feeling lucky not to have to own a car. But it does make the car seat issue truly tricky, because you can't just install it and leave it in your vehicle.

I am far from an expert on car seats. The two resources I'd highly recommend are The Car Seat Lady and the iVillage Car Seat Message Board. The Car Seat Lady has an extensive website with info about requirements and safety and correct installation. She also does in-person consults in NYC and Baltimore. My favorite thing about her site is that she has more info about using car seats in taxis than you'll find anywhere else, and she specifically mentions the best portable carseat options (such as the Sit 'n' Stroll and the Randian). The iVillage Car Seat message board posters review practically every seat on the market and can give you tips for installing the seat you buy. The thing to remember about the iVillage board is that most of the people posting on it come from the POV of installing in your own family vehicle, so some of the things that they rate highly in a car seat may make it less practical for those of us who use taxis.

A convertible seat is just a seat that you can use rear-facing and then turn it around to use front-facing when the kid is older and bigger. Once your kid is out of the infant seat you won't be dealing with bases anymore, but you also won't be able to wheel your seat around as your stroller (with a few exceptions). It's safer to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible (so if there's no real reason to switch your child at a year you shouldn't do it), and in some countries they have special seats that allow them to keep 2 and 3-year-olds rear-facing. I don't know if those seats come with barf bags.

My data points: I've been very happy with the Graco SnugRide as an infant seat, but I think most infant seats are about the same. The only thing I'd note is that if you're using an infant seat in a taxi, you don't have to install the base first. You can put the shoulder and lap belt through the alternate belt path on the seat itself, so you don't have to lug the base with you. (Just make sure you use the level indicator on the side of the seat so you know when it's at the right angle.) The exception to this is the Peg Perego infant seat, which must be used with the base. This makes the Peg an unwieldy choice for people who use taxis a lot.

We also have a Britax Roundabout. I bought it because a forensic engineer friend of mine bought it for his own kid, saying that the EPS foam would make a big difference in an accident. However, I find it nearly impossible to install snugly in the rear-facing position, and I've never been able to install it to my satisfaction in a taxi. In hindsight, I wish I'd known how tough it would be to install and reinstall it in the rear-facing position, and I most likely would have gone with a different model. My personal opinion is that it's worth the tradeoff of the shock-absorbing foam to be able to keep my kid rear-facing for longer than the bare minimum of 12 months (and to know that the seat was installed correctly before he turned 1). We bought our Roundabout before the Marathon was introduced. My older son was 40 pounds and 40 inches at 2.9, so he was out of the Roundabout long before he turned 4 (the minimum age for a booster). This meant we needed to buy another seat for him anyway before he could go into a booster. So if you're going with a Britax (and yes, the straps are far superior to those on the other brands and that makes more of a difference than you'd think) and your kid has a chance of being tall or heavy or both, I'd go with the Marathon instead of the RA.

Other non-car-owners, what do you think? And do any car owners have insights that would help those of us who need to install and reinstall every time we take a taxi?

Comments

[chichimama]

I found the Marathon a royal pain to install and uninstall in taxis. Although I was doing it pre-latch. Now that all new cars have to have latch, I assume it would be easier. But it is still heavy and unwieldy.

But I don't have any alternate suggestions, as once we had the marathon, we weren't about to go buy a new seat. When you get to forward facing only, we love the graco one that eventually turns into a booster. They've changed the name since we purchased but I think they only make one.

[wix]

I can't testify to getting it installed in a taxi, however I can get our Britax out of one car and into the other in under 3 minutes. Both cars have LATCH, which can be used either forward- or rear-facing, so it is even easier than having to fiddle with the seatbelt arrangement. In fact, I recommend the Britax regularly -because- it is so easy to get in and out of a car. I've even seen a friend who doesn't have LATCH in her car get her seat in and out as quickly as I do, and she uses the seatbelt system.

I think the trick here is practice. When we first got our second car*, it took me forever to get the thing out of one and into the other. And if you're just not using the seat, or un/installing it every day, you're never going to be as agile with it as someone who has to do it day in and day out.

*No heavy sighing from those of you lucky enough to live in a place with an actual public transportation system, now--we were a single-car family for 10+ years until we moved to Houston.

[Cat, Galloping]

Don't taxis have LATCH? My car seat (Evenflo Triumph 5) is so easy to install with LATCH. Also, this car seat was rated #1 in crash tests by consumer reports and is half the price of the Britax, for whatever that's worth. But these convertible car seats are all huge! How do you carry it around when you get out of the taxi?

[londoner]

A European point of view just to make you laugh -here we just put the pushchair in the taxi (if it's a black cab), or hold the baby on our laps...
I have another question though: if your baby screams blue murder in the back seat, is it permissible to put the car seat in the front (airbag turned off of course?) (And what other options are there?!)

[Lisa]

Londoner,

Our cars in the US won't allow you to turn off the airbag in the front. In pickup trucks, yes, but cars? No. Plus it's against the law for a baby to not be in a carseat.

We had a Sit-n-Stroll and it was worth every cent of the almost-$200 it cost back 9 or 10 years ago. I don't know how much they are now. But being able to transfer a sleeping baby from car to stroller without actually picking him up? Priceless.

[Carrie]

I'm surprised a 13-month old still fits in an infant seat since the max length on most of those is 26".

I use my convertible Evenflo Triumph 5CT and Graco Something car seats in each of our cars (no LATCH because of model year). Because my husband is very tall, I frequently move the seats from behind the passenger seat to behind the driver's seat, so that it is behind me, the shorter person. I don't find it that difficult to use the seat belt to install the seats. Make sure to pull the seat belt all the way out until it clicks/locks so that in the event of a quick stop, no slack is given out. One of our cars has a top tether strap when using the car seat in the forward facing position, though, and I find that part very difficult to install quickly. It requires that you put the tether behind the seat (in trucks, minivans, and SUVs) or on the back window ledge (in cars), install the seat with the seat belt, and then snug the tether. I imagine it is just as difficult with LATCH. In a Nissan Murano, for example, the tether points are all the way in the back by the tailgate, so it requires that you crawl into the cargo space to install it. In my four-door pick up truck, I have to the fold the seat forward to access the tether anchor. It is very difficult to fold the seat forward to hook the tether when the carseat is in the back seat and the front seats are there. This wouldn't be an issue in taxis as they are not trucks, but many a cab is a minivan in Chicago and I'm not sure how you'd snug the upper tethers.

[joline]

I was thinking that one of those restraint vests would be ideal for families on the go without a car. THey are lightweight , have 5 point harnesses etc. . .
But they arent for rear facing passengers, and a baby under 20 lbs needs to be rear facing.
A pp mentioned the sit n stroll. If this is a convertable type carseat (meaning it can be either forward or rear facing) this might be an excellent option.
From stroller to carseat and back again.

[Kate]

We live in NYC and do not have a car. We started out with the Graco Snugride car seat/Kolcraft Universal stroller frame combo. This worked very well for us. The carseat detached easily from the frame, which can be folded and placed in the trunk. The carseat was easily strapped into the cab. I just had to be sure it was level and be sure to tug on the straps to engage/lock them. And as a stroller it was GREAT! Baby was up high, facing me and snug in his carseat, there was tons of storage below, and overall rig very light (although a bit bulky, hard, for example, to cart down subway stairs). Now we use the Sit-n-Stroll. It has worked well but not as well for us. As a carseat, it has been great. The transition from carseat to stroller and back can be a bit awkward, though, and as a stroller it is only okay. Much better than carrying a carseat around of course but we are not really the in and out of cab people we were when we were still able to use the Snugride/Universal combo.

[Summer]

I don't know if I'd second your endorsement of the Marathon, Moxie. I too had a Roundabout for my son (we own a car, so there was very little de-install/re-install, and I'd give it a hearty thumbs up for other car-owners) and I moved him into a Graco Turbo Booster when he was 3. After 2.5 years of wrangling the boy into his car seat straps, using the booster is a dream. Just buckle the seat belt and be done! And it's infinitely easier to transfer the booster from car to car, because it doesn't have to be strapped in. I'd think that anyone dependent on taxis or rented cars would want to start using a booster the second their kid hit the minimum age/weight limit.

For a convertible seat, the bottom of the line booster I bought for use in my mom's car might be a good option. For rear-facing, the seatbelt strap went OVER the armrests of the seat. It was annoying to use on a near-daily basis, but it was extremely easy to install and take out, both rear and forward facing. (It was a Century brand, which I think has been folded into a larger company... Graco, maybe?) Definitely check the options at the low price points... at least that way, if a taxi driver zooms off when you've removed child but not seat, you're only out $60 or so.

[Brooke]

The height limits on car seats are more flexible than the weight limits. As long as the kid's head is an inch or more below the top of the infant seat, it's still okay. So kids with long legs can outgrow the height limit and still be safe in a seat.

I would stress that getting a seat you can install correctly is key. Statistically, an improperly installed car seat is no safer than not using a car seat (but way safer than not using any sort of restraint). Pretty much all the seats are the safe level of safe if used correctly, so get one that you CAN use correctly.

[liz]

Another vote for the Sit-n-Stroll. It's easy to install (can do it with the child in the seat) and it's been okay'd for airline use (look for the tiny airplane logo on the side).

[Moxie]

Summer, my problem with the Roundabout (and why I wish we'd had the Marathon so we didn't have to buy another seat) was that he was over the weight limit a full 15 months before he was at the right age for a booster (here in NY State it's 4 years for a booster). If he'd been 3 1/2 and 40 pounds I probably would have just gone with a belt-positioning booster, but for a kid who wasn't even 3 yet I just wasn't willing to do it. We ended up getting the Graco one Chichimama mentioned in the first comment.

Cat, only cars made in the last, oh, 5 years or so have LATCH. So the majority of cabs on NYC streets are still LATCH-free and proud. I consider myself lucky if there's a middle seat belt an no sticky goo on the floor.

Joline, I was all excited about the restraint vest, but then tried a friend's and learned that she was right that it's extremely hard to get it snug enough to both the child and the seat to be safe.

I had this idea to make an inflatable seat out of super-heavy rubber, like an Aerobed. But it looks like the Randian people have gotten it right with the fold-up seat.

[Sara]

I have no car, live in the city (not one as dense or public-transit-full as NYC, sadly enough) and own a Britax Roundabout, which we've used at least a few times a month for most of the kid's life (she's now an average-sized 20-month-old). We've put it into taxis, airport shuttles, plane seats, and maybe 10 different cars (and carried it all over the place, including on the subway). It's a fantastic seat, worth every penny and every pound and inch of bulk. I actually find it easier to install and adjust than the cheaper ones my friends own. I can install it fairly well rear-facing in a few minutes in anybody's car, LATCH or no LATCH, and even faster forward-facing. I agree that it's all about practice - the first ten times I did it were really stressful and took forever. Also, I've never used the tether, and I've been able to install it as securely as the guy from the babystore did, so I'm probably compromising a little on safety, but I think I do a respectably decent installation.

I'm pretty sure that it's legal to be carseat-free in taxis in all the states, though I wouldn't want to exercise that option, given how terrifyingly taxis are usually driven.

[Katie]

I don't have any experience with kids in taxis but have taking my stroller on the Metro lately. We have a Alpha Sport 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat from Cosco that goes from 5 lbs to 80lbs child. My daughter is now over 40lbs and uses the booster option and my son (15 month low 20lbs.) has the other seat still rear facing. My SIL just purchased ($100) one recently as well. We had been using a Cosco carrier which is much bigger and bulkier than the Graco SnugRide (it is still the good as a car seat rear facing until the child is 35lbs and it is in the second seldom used car. If we have another child it will be time to replace the heavy Cosco carrier for the Graco SnugRide.

[laura]

I hang out on another carseat board, and just wanted to put another option out there - the Cosco Scenera (5-pt harness option). It should last a child as long as a Marathon (size-wise), but it's a lot lighter, and only about $50 USD.

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