CHILDREN IN VEHICLES OCCUPANT Driver
Child up to 3 years of age
Child aged 3 to 11 and under 135cm in height (about 4.5 feet)
FRONT SEATS
Seatbelt must be worn if fitted
Correct child restraint must be used
Correct child restraint must be used
Not applicable
Correct child restraint must be used. If one is not available in a licensed taxi or private hire vehicle, the child may travel unrestrained
Correct child restraint must be used if seatbelts are fitted. If a child seat is not available, a child may travel using just the seatbelt in these situations: 1. In a licensed taxi or private hire vehicle 2. For a short distance if the journey is unexpected and necessary 3. There isn’t room to fit a third child seat.
Child 12 or 13 or younger child 135cm or more in height.
Passengers aged 14 years and over
Adult seatbelt must be worn if fitted.
Must be worn if fitted.
Adult seatbelt must be worn if fitted. REAR SEATS RESPONSIBILITY Driver Driver Driver
Driver
Must be worn if fitted.
Passenger
Death, bodily injury, loss, damage and/or liability resulting from the Insured Vehicle: being driven with an insecure load or a number of passengers which makes it unsafe to drive or exceeds the manufacturer’s specification.
Being driven with a load or a number of passengers which is unsafe or greater than the manufacturer’s specifications.
Anyone failing to keep to the law regarding the use of seat belts.”
(Now there’s a zinger! Exclusion from insurance cover for failing to adhere to seat belt law…! More about all that below.)
But here’s the thing: Nobody has actually come out and stated, in finite terms, that (a) travelling with a child sitting in its pushchair is dangerous and should be forbidden; (b) in the event of an accident the child would not be insured; and (c) in the event of an accident the driver would be held liable for death or bodily injury of/to the child who travelled in its pushchair. Surely these points need spelling out in clear, unequivocal terms: an “insecure load” could mean any number of things.
But then we have to examine the alternative: What does the parent do with the child if they must be removed from the pushchair? Now we come into the entirely grey area of child seat belt laws, particularly as they pertain to licensed taxis/PHVs. The chart above sets out the current general parameters, according to
GOV.UK:
First of all you might be thinking, Spot the deliberate mistake: it says drivers must wear a seat belt if fitted. Of course this pertains to ordinary motorists; hackney carriage drivers are exempted from wearing a seat belt at all times whilst on duty, and PHV drivers when they have POB. But then the $64,000 question is this: What about a child under three years old, where it says “the child may travel unrestrained”? How dangerous is that? The RoSPA guidelines state: “The only exception is that a child under three years may travel unrestrained in the rear of a licensed taxi or licensed private hire car that has a fixed partition separating the front and rear seats, if a child restraint or seat belt is not available. However this only applies on an unexpected journey.”
Define “unexpected journey” please: The parent is not using their own car, but supposing the journey is in a pre-booked saloon PHV: it is
JANUARY 2019
neither unexpe cted, nor does the vehicle have a partition. So the parent is expected to hold the young child on their lap – but they cannot restrain the child with the seat belt they are using for themselves.
This is RoSPA’s take on the carrying of children in taxis/PHVs:
“Taxi companies are not required by law to provide child car seats in taxis or private hire vehicles, although child passengers must use them if they are provided, as described below.
“If child car seats are not available, but seat belts are fitted, children must wear the seat belts as prescribed. If the taxi’s seat belts cannot be used (for example, because the buckle is hidden) ask the driver to fix it. If it cannot be fixed, do not use the vehicle - ask for a replacement.
“Children under three years old can only travel in the front of a taxi or private hire vehicle if they are carried in an appropriate child car seat. This will be a rearward-facing baby seat that meets the R44 or R129 safety standards or a forward-facing child seat with an internal harness that meets R44 or R129.
It is illegal to carry a baby in a rearward-facing baby seat in the front of a vehicle if there is an active front passenger airbag. The airbag must be deactivated or the baby seat must be placed in the rear of the taxi, private hire vehicle or minicab. Although they may travel unrestrained in the rear if seat belts are not available, this is not a safe choice. It’s better to book a different taxi with seat belts or child seats provided. It is illegal and dangerous for two people to wear the same seat belt at the same time.”
OMG!
What a hotch-potch, and what a way to encourage licensed drivers to carry children (not!!!). We’ve heard of a lot of private hire companies that provide car seats for their drivers, but it’s certainly not a universal practice.
Rest assured, we shall be lobbying Government – when they’ve got nothing better to do of course! – for much clearer guidance as to the safe carriage of children in taxis and PHVs. And top of the list for how not to do it is to accept children travelling in their pushchair.
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