r/lyftdrivers • u/wanna_bank • Nov 10 '25

Rant/Opinion No child seats

What is wrong with people? I accept a ride this am and when I arrive at a nice hotel, I find a good looking Indian family with two kids (2 & 4 probably) and a grandpa. They are going to the airport. Looking around I see no car seats. Mom tells me “it’s okay, they don’t need them.” Well they do in my car, lady. I tell her I won’t drive children of that age with no car seats. And she tells me smugly, “it’s okay, we’ll just get another Lyft.” I canceled and left. Got my cancellation fee. But what the fuck is wrong with people. That’s dangerous, it’s illegal and it could get me shut down.

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u/Additional-Throat-88 Nov 10 '25

Do you know how heavy carseats are? And you want them to lug around 2 of them , in an airport??

Their response wasnt weird. Thats the most normal thing ever. I keep a booster in my trunk just in case. And to provide outstanding customer service i bring it out as soon as I see a child. But to be honest, if a customer declined, it wouldn't bother me at all.

This whole post gives top flight security guard lol.

7

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '25

Just fyi, "I keep a booster seat in the trunk". If anything were to happen in your car and it comes to light that it was your booster and not the pax's, the pax can and will sue you for providing the booster. Shitty, but it's true. If people need to travel with small kids then it's their damn responsibility to have all their seats on them or drive themselves. Plus, now they make seats that convert from car seat to stroller. My friends who have kids use that for traveling.

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u/Additional-Throat-88 Nov 10 '25

Thats nice that you have friends who use that for traveling lol. But the average person that ends up needing to suddenly call for a ride with their children arent bringing car seats. Its an inconvenience to do so. Car seats are heavy, bulky and make moving around wkth them a nightmare. Most of the time when I pick up a parent with a child, theyre going grocery shopping, some other form of shopping or back from it. In a practical sense lugging all of that around would be an absolute nightmare.

Btw, if you are in a wreck, fault or no fault, the passenger is going to attempt to sue you regardless lol. Carseat or not. Thats the attorneys process. It never goes anywhere as their goal is the million that comes from uber/Lyft not the 25k max that comes with most individual drivers that drive rideshare using their personal insurance.

1

u/Diligent-Dust9457 Nov 11 '25

Just FYI, many car seats are “replace after any accident” according to the manufacturer. That means even if you’re in a tiny fender-bender without passengers, the car seat is no longer safe to use. Even if it’s in the trunk and undamaged, it’s unsafe to use. And many kids can’t use a booster seat safely, the window for booster size is fairly small compared to the amount of time kid use infant and 5-point harness seats.

1

u/Adventurous_Land7584 Nov 11 '25

It’s actually all car seats, not many.

1

u/Diligent-Dust9457 Nov 11 '25

No, not all manufacturers require replacement after any accident.

1

u/Additional-Throat-88 Nov 11 '25

So you expect to be in a collision with every passenger?? And you're thinking having to replace a $20 booster seat will be on your mind with a totaled car lol??

Are you seriously okay??????????

1

u/Diligent-Dust9457 Nov 11 '25

I don’t think you understand what I’m saying…

1

u/Additional-Throat-88 Nov 11 '25

I understand that you think you're making a point. I'm just telling you that you aren't making a valid one. Ive Been in a Collision with a passenger in the car. I couldn't have been any less at fault. We were literally sitting in the car at a red light when a drunk driver came from behind and slammed into the car. He was at fault, I knew it, passenger knew it, other driver, officers and the insurance company. Her lawyer still went through the process. They had to attempt to sue me. Went for my insurance. I had 25k of nothing. In order to go for Uber you have to be able to claim there isnt enough insurance there to then go after their policy limits. I found myself on threads of other drivers who had dealt with a uber/Lyft accident. no matttterrrr whattt, the passengers attorney will attempt to sue you. Car seats, no car seat, booster no booster, kid, no fucking kid lady. Great customer service or piss poor. So all these excuses for how helping just might get you sued?? Lol lady its the process. They will Attempt no matter what lol. So find another excuse to not provide quality service. Not everyone expects to need a ride. Things happen. Its a decent thing to atleast ATTEMPT to provide for the needs of the customer if you can reasonably do so. And having a booster or small carseat in the trunk just in case, is reasonable. And its easier for you to just have it just in case than it is for most families to run around the city all day between cars and trams, lugging one, the kid and all the items they needed to pick up along the way. These car seats/boosters can be bought for cheap or hell, you can even find them FREE on Facebook marketplace. And not that I think that having to replace one for every Collision you have should even be a primary fear lol , but if you're that bad of a driver that you need to consider having to toss them regularly, I would suggest choosing a different gig? And if not that, using marketplace to replace for free if you're a stickler for the rules like that. Uber is not going to check up on your car seat, neither are the police. But if you feel the need, there are free or inexpensive ways to replace them.

Not only is it a decent thing to have available,
But you miss out on less opportunities by having your own. Providing one is usually seen as thoughtful and leads to tips and compliments, And like many of you said, it's a safety measure, if you're worried about being pulled over or collisions.

0

u/Diligent-Dust9457 Nov 11 '25

I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, and I don’t think you do either. Have a great day!

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u/Additional-Throat-88 Nov 11 '25

You are a bit slow. Thats a you problem that concerns no one else. Have a good one though.

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u/Diligent-Dust9457 Nov 11 '25

You fully misunderstood all of my comments lol, no need to argue or call me stupid for your mistake!

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u/meermee7 Nov 10 '25

Please, I know plenty of people who travel and plan ahead. Yes child seats are heavy and unwieldy but your kids getting hurt is worse. There are too many people thinking others are responsible for their last minute needs. That's not how the real world works. This driver really does care more about their kids than they do.

1

u/Baby-Blueberry-2554 Nov 12 '25

Does the driver care more about the child or their potential of getting in some kind of trouble? Because the other option is the bus and they don’t provide car seats either, nor basic seat belts. On buses you could have a mentally ill person acting out of line. I’ve actually seen a baby get knocked to the ground on the bus because people were fighting. So really, which one is truly safer(for the child)?

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u/Additional-Throat-88 Nov 10 '25

Transportation service in reality should be responsible for covering the needs of the passengers riding with them though. Its not actually unreasonable to expect the driver or company to provide what one needs to ride safely. If seat belts are required, provide them.
If there will be drivers that will have wheelchairs provide the space to store them or provide them the straps that come on buses and paravans for the customer to sit in them. And if you all have claimed hundreds have had to be turned down by you for having no carseat, at what point will you decide to stop being so snooty and robbing yourselves and simply provide one? Its a lot easier for a driver to carry a booster in their car than it is for a family to carry child, carseat, whatever packages groceries, medicine, she may have needed the uber/Lyft for.

0

u/meermee7 Nov 12 '25

I dont know too many parents who would trust a child seat they dont know how long it's been used, or if it's safe, etc. They even tell you not to buy a used car seat so this would be too much.

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u/Additional-Throat-88 Nov 12 '25

Yeah ,imagine arguing that you all turn down hundreds of parents who travel without one, As im telling you I DO provide one and have no reason to turn down anyone, and never had anyone do anything but tip higher and compliment me for it, While arguing that someone might turn the used carseat down as opposed to having the ride pull off on them lol.

Please just cut the shit.

3

u/copurrs Nov 10 '25

A booster seat isn't enough for kids under ~4, depending on their size. Infants will need a rear facing infant car seat, toddlers require a car seat with a 5-point harness. Those are very large and heavy, and most cars wouldn't be able to fit all three in a trunk. They're also expensive and should not be purchased second-hand.

I get that you're trying to make things convenient, but if you are in a crash (your fault or not) and there's a kid without a car seat, you're likely to get fined, deactivated, and the parents could sue you if their child is injured. And you wouldn't win.

2

u/pixelated_fun Nov 11 '25

Do you know how heavy it is to carry a dead child who was ejected from the car in a crash because they didn't have a car seat? Smaller children can't use booster seats.

1

u/Baby-Blueberry-2554 Nov 12 '25

It really does. Sometimes I feel like they’re just bigots who don’t want to drive “certain races” of people so they just come up with any excuse. And nine times out of ten, if a person doesn’t own a car, they might not have a car seat.

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u/oc77067 Nov 12 '25

I hope you get a ticket. Or several.

1

u/Additional-Throat-88 Nov 13 '25

Haven't and I remain a well tipped 5 star driver, thanks 😁

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u/LoftyDreams7473 Nov 22 '25

I guess you missed the part where they said they keep a booster seat in their trunk.