Car seat requirement

This November we will be flying into STT with our son who will be a few months short of 6 years old. We will taxi from the airport to the ferry terminal and then taxi again to the Moorings base. We may rent a jeep for the day on Anegada.
What are the requirements in the USVI and BVI for car seats or seat belts for kids? At home he is in a booster seat. I would really prefer not to lug the booster seat with us. Thanks.

Car hire companies have seats available. May not be brilliant, but do the job.

Taxis on STT do not have car seats or boosters, though legally they have to be used for children under age 5. Sounds like your guy can legally get away with a seat belt. Everyone must wear a seat belt. As far as I know, the laws are similar in the BVIs. When we had kids that were car seat aged we brought our own. Friends who got car seats from the rental agency got car seats that were quite dirty and needed to be cleaned. Anegada may be another matter. In any case, call ahead.

Cheers, RickG

I've never seen a car seat on Anegada. Most times the seat belts don't even work.

I never see anyone wearing seat belts unless they are in the front seat.

I've been bringing my kids down since they were only months old...never used a car seat...

I don't think anybody on Anegada will say anything about a 5 year old not being in a booster seat.

If a person should be in a car seat or booster they should be on that seat on any aircraft. So you should have one in hand getting off the plane. If you have a quality car child restraint it will have an airplane symbol.

Some good flight attendants check and will not let you use one that does not have the FAA stamp.

When it comes to taxis in NYC and most markets most look the other way. But technically you should be carting your own none lice infected restraint to the airport, on the plane, and in any vehicle. Your call, your taxi drivers call. Our kids have always had their own seats on every flight since birth. They ride the planes, the way they ride the car.

We have chartered all around the world. If it ever gets rough the youngest ones go in the seat. The seat on the boat is always secured somewhere out of the way. Under the settee is one safe place to secure a small child. The area behind the helm on on some cats can work. No place is worse than a moving adults arms in a seaway. Strap the seat down somewhere before you leave the dock.

Not only do they not use child seats in the BVI, a close look at most of the Chinese made vehicles there and you will not see air bags, interior padding protection or any of the normal things we see in the USA. I would venture a guess these cars have not gone through crash testing as well. Don't Worry, Be Happy.

Children under two can ride on parents lap on a plane...no car seat

Why is there some sort of demon glaring at me from the bottom, left part of your picture? I'm also pretty sure that if I try to secure my son under the settee I'm going to have a fight on my hands. And he's pretty wiry and strong.

What is up with this formatting? Does anyone know how to fix this? I will reply to two posts here. There are many things on this earth you "can" do. All people of all sizes should be secured properly on any moving vehicle. That goes for infants to the elderly in both cars and planes. We should all have a proper restraining device for our size. The smaller the person the more important that is. If you need a car seat, you should be using a proper plane seat for your child. Yes, the so far airlines(with some taxis and buses) look the other way if the person is less than two. That is all about business and money and has no basis in science for the health of the little one.

In most BVI cruises it never really gets rough. To say it will never get rough is wrong. When we have little one on a boat. We always have a place thought out ahead of time to secure the child(who cannot secure themselves) outside of the arms of even the best well meaning adults. The key points are a dry location where nothing will fall on them, no one will fall on them, and where they will not be tragically hurt when they or an adult fall with them. Falling from one side of a heavily or suddenly healed boat can be catastrophic. A mom carrying a child is always short arms and hands even on flat stable ground. If the conditions require using handholds to move around. The babies have to go in the restraints. That is true for boats, planes, and cars for us.

Every child is different. Even the 50 year old dehydrated and gassed with rhum. The key is a secure location coupled with a device that protects each child from sudden unexpected movement of the car, bus, boat, or plane. Most of us do that everyday in our cars since the 60/70's?

Here is how one family does it.

http://www.windtraveler.net/2013/03/bringing-up-baby-on-boat.html

Actually the seatbelt laws are about business and money. They were enacted to reduce insurance rates and hospital bills....

you sure they are not to save children's lives? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Yep... here is my thought process getting in the car. Let me put this thing on. When I [email]f@#%[/email] up. My hospital bill will be less. Same reason I have PFD's on or nearby a break on my insurance. Back to the original post. When going on a boat or plane bring the properly certified tool from home to protect those too young to make choices for themselves. Comfortable PFD's that fit(two one dry one wet) and restraints the child is already familiar with.

I'm sure the law wasn't made to save lives. And it's not to reduce your insurance...its when people get injured in accidents and the insurance has to pay lots of money eventually all insurance rates go up. I'm not saying not to wear it, but the law wasn't made to protect you in an accident. I also don't think a car seat or sat belt is going to help much when your plane hits the earth from 35,000 feet like a lawn dart.

A catastrophic loss of aircraft is not something most seat belts will get you through. You should also know that one of the biggest risk of plane flight is getting you head or child's head slammed into the ceiling during turbulence. That is why the seat belt light comes on at the first sign of unstable air. Just like a child in the backseat of a car that cannot immediately care for themselves they should be strapped in all the time. If you do not buckle or unbuckle the child depending on the conditions in a car why ever unbuckle them on a plane. The wisest flyers are judicious at keeping strapped in on any plane.

As StormJib said - there are plenty of incidents that can happen on a plane where you will survive and would survive with fewer injuries if your wearing a seat belt.

I think the only reason they allow kids under 2 to fly without a seat belt is simply because there hasn't been an incident with a child being killed. The day that happens, I'd imagine the rule will change.

Screaming babies near high paying passengers, Flight Attendants trying to force moms to force kids into seats, Moms showing up with seats that do not meet the standards delaying the entire loading and flight are all business reasons why the airlines look the other way with babies that are small and the mom says is less than 2. Here is the WSJ on the issue...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-study-focuses-on-in-flight-risk-to-infants-1408574702

Babies on Planes

Sadly this is not true. There have been multiple accidents where lap children lost their lives in otherwise survivable accidents. Charlotte in 94 and the Sioux City DC10 crash are two examples. Some survivors of the DC10 crash were so horrified at the children killed they still are waging a fight to mandate child seats.
G

That is sad. Guess it will take a few more deaths before things change.