Taxicabs and child restraint
R. S. Walter and A. R. Kuo
Department of Pediatrics, Alfred I. duPont Institute, Wilmington, Del. 19899.
For young urban families who may not own a car, taxicabs are a common mode
of transportation. We surveyed the frequency of taxicab use involving
children younger than age 4 years in a Baltimore, Md, clinic population and
studied pediatric occupant safety issues, including taxicab child restraint
law exemptions, taxicab occupant morbidity/mortality data, and taxicab
child restraint device availability. In our inner-city clinic, 84 (78%) of
108 families reported that they did not own a car and 64 (76%) of those
without cars rode with their small children in taxicabs at least monthly (n
= 28), weekly (n = 27), or daily (n = 9), all without child restraints.
Thirty-five of 50 states (70%) plus Washington, DC, exempt taxicabs from
child restraint laws. Only 11 (27%) of 41 states with safety belt laws
exempt taxicabs. There were 106 reported taxicab occupant fatalities from
1986 to 1990 in the United States, including 11 children and adolescents.
National and state data on motor vehicle occupant morbidity do not
separately examine taxicabs. Individual taxicab fleets we contacted would
not release injury data. Of 50 urban taxicab fleets in four states
(Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), only three (6%) offered
child restraint devices by advance telephone request. There was no
difference in availability based on state taxicab exemptions from child
restraint laws. We conclude that taxicab use involving young children is
common in this inner-city population. Data on taxicab occupant injuries are
needed. Child restraint law exemptions for taxicabs should be eliminated.
Education about, and enforcement of, child restraint laws for taxicabs is
needed. Recent local legislation linking child restraint device
availability to taxicab licensure should be encouraged.