If you are a parent and have children under the age of 12, then you know how important child car seats are. Since 2006 child car seats have been an essential piece of motor vehicle equipment for parents, but sadly, child car seats have also been very problematic.
Child car seats have a reputation of being bulky, heavy, and let us be honest a nightmare to fit in a car. But now, that has changed. A new child car seat called the Taxie Professional Child Car seat has made parents lives so much easier. It is lightweight, it can be portable, and it is so easy to install.
The Taxie Professional Child Car Seat has gained worldwide exposure since the announcement it was set to be launched on the market. Looking at the design of the child seat, and all the extras it provides, and how it can easily be carried around when not in use, it is no wonder why so many product reviewers are talking about it. So, we decided to sit down with the people behind the Taxie Professional Child Car Seat and learn more about it.
You have just released a new product, can you tell me more about it?
Taxie professional car seat is the world’s smallest and the lightest ECE-R129 child car seat designed for all children over 76cm.
There are hundreds if not thousands of child car seats around, so what makes your car seat so special and why should people be interested?
As a parent, I always think every vehicle should provide child safety protection. If only child car seat small enough to store on every car, then children will be well protected. That is the reason for us to develop Taxie. Our design allows transportation like Taxi and Uber to carry a child car seat all the time. Children between 15months to 12 years old will protect at the latest ECE-R129 standard.
I have read that your child seat can be folded and is so small that it can easily be carried around, surely that is not true is it?
Taxie is the smallest child car seat that complies with the ECE-R129 regulation. It is 55% smaller than the other major competitor in the market. For example, Taxie is the only child car seat in its kind to fit into a mini cooper’s boot. It just means drivers can have a child car seat standby all the time for a young passenger.
That is so incredible. Is it also true that your car seat is also the lightest for children over 15 months old?
That’s right, Taxie is less than half the weight of the competitor. The reason is that we have found a way to provides the latest ECE-R129 level of protection without the need for Isofix and top-tether strap (or anti-rotation leg). That not only allow Taxie to become the smallest and the lightest ECE-R129 car seat, also make Taxie quicker and easier to install.
That is incredible. That means if you plan to take your child in a taxi, or a friends car and they don’t have a child car seat, you can simply take your own?
Yes, you can simply take Taxie with you, and your child will be protected at the latest ECE-R129 safety standard. But what we really want is: Every taxis and minibus will have a child car seat ready for children to use. Taxie is only a tool to allow public transport to take back the responsibility to provide children with a safe journey.
How important was it when designing the Taxie professional car seat to make it lightweight and portable?
That is critical. Drivers have different needs when compare to parents. Drivers need to install and uninstall the child car seat every time. A big and bulky child car seat means the driver needs to spend longer time to prepare, and the real nightmare for many drivers are logistic. A big and bulky child car seat always mean the driver need to travel back and forth the headquarter to pick up and return the child car seat. It wastes time and fuel.
Would you say that your child car seat is so small it could fit underneath some car seats?
Vehicles come in a different size. And I think the user will need to check on their vehicle to get the answer. FYI, Taxie dimensions are 55.1 x 44 x 30.4cm.
There are still millions of parents around the world who don’t have a child car seat in their car, which according to reports is down to the price and how bulky they are and how hard they are to fit. Was this something you looked into when you designed your child car seat?
Yes, that is why we design a child car seat for the drivers; in that case, parents do not even need to own a child car seat. And the drivers will take the responsibility to install and uninstall the child car seat.
Most parents will have the child car seats installed and hardly remove it from the vehicles afterwards. But some parents have a small car, and some grandparents simply want a child car seat ready whenever their grandson/granddaughter visit. For them, a child car seat that is safe (ECE-R129), and that is small enough to store in the vehicle boot is essential. And Taxie is the only child car seat in this class can store in the boot of a mini cooper.
What testing has been done on the Taxie professional car seat to make sure it is safe and secure when an accident happens?
Taxie has been tested based on the ECE-R129 standard, and we are confident to go into production to prepare for the final test. With the early help from the Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) and now our Computer Aid Engineer analyzes specialist, Taxie professional car seat has pass CAE test on both front/rear/side-impact requirement stated in ECE-R129. CAE is a professional tool that widely uses in the automobile industry. Their use has enabled the automakers to reduce product development cost and time while improving the safety, comfort, and durability of the vehicles they produce.
Taxie has been designed and engineered to comply with worldwide regulatory standards. On delivery, Taxie will comply with UN ECE R129/03 for most countries.
You said that when you looked at designing your child car seat you did a lot of research and studies, what type of research and studies did you do?
We research many different areas. One key area is to understand how professional drivers use a child car seat and what kind of problems they are facing. Then we know what space we need to improve. We simply talk to them, show them prototypes and photos and ask for feedback. Then we learn that how small they need a child car seat to be and how difficult to keep child car seat clean with germ-free and how much they want to avoid to bring a wrong size of a child car seat and how much time and fuse they have wasted on a trip that required a child car seat. All of this understanding help us design Taxie into what it is. A professional child car seat.
Another key research area is related to the new safety regulation, ECE-R129 is updating in the last few years, and each revision shows new requirements and as well as new opportunities for innovation. Which allow us to remove Isofix on Taxie to reduce product size, and also enabled us to remove the top-tether strap to save installation time.
Some child car seats are designed to fit a child up to a certain age or weight, does your car seat have any limitations?
Yes, Taxie is designed for a child with height in between 76cm and 150 cm. For your information, Taxie is a convertible child car seat which means it is an i-Size booster seat when a child with height over 95cm uses it; and Taxie is an Integral Universal Belted car seat when used by a child with a height between 76cm – 150cm.
How much can we expect to pay for a Taxie Professional car seat, and what countries is it available in?
The retail price of Taxie is £299. And we will first launch on a crowdfunding platform IndieGoGo with a heavily discounted rate. So don’t miss it.
And regarding countries, we will ship to all countries that follow UNECE Regulation 44 or Regulation 129. In this case, the U.K., all E.U. countries, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Hongkong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, etc.
Are there plans on bringing the child car seat to the U.K. market?
Yes, indeed. Please stay tuned.
With the child car seat being so lightweight, portable, and available at an affordable price, would it not make sense for uber drivers and taxi drivers to have one in their car for when they have a young family as passengers?
Absolutely, we are already in talks with some ride-hailing platforms as well as rental car companies. To provide opportunities for those service providers to stand out from the competition, as well to provide a safe journey that every child deserve.
You have not mentioned how quickly the car seat can be installed, lets face it, car seats can be very annoying to install and can take time, so how easy is your car seat to install?
We put effort to improve child safety protection without the use of an Isofix and top-tether strap. By that, in a scenario of a 7-year-old child, installation is 25% faster.
There is one important question that does need answering. We are going through the COVID19 pandemic which could be around for years, and people are now becoming concerned about bacteria. If a Uber or Taxi driver has this in their vehicle, how easy is it to clean?
We heard that concern from drivers and parents, that is especially important for a child car seat used in a public transport vehicle. And so we designed Safe-T Shield. This unique Safe.t Shield application implemented in 3 directions:
The integral bacterial and fungal protection
Safe-T Shield is based on Zinc Pyrithione and applied to cloth during the dyeing process. It will first destabilize the bacteria and fungi cell membrane, then inhibit the generation of energy and finally prevent the storage of energy, which prevents bacteria and fungi from multiplying and spreading on its surfaces.​ ​
- Easy clean coating
A splash-proof layer, applied to the cloth cover, prevents liquids passing through the cloth cover, thereby keeping the car seat structure clean. It also means that dirt cannot cling to the cloth cover surface, making it much easier to wash or wipe clean. ​And finally,
- Night Safety Feature
The reflective element added to the cloth cover makes the safety seat visible in a darkened situation. Increased visibility at night means an increased safety level for the driver and the passengers.
Is it true you have already won an award for the child seat?
That’s right. Taxie just received Red-dot design award 2020. This year, a total of 4,170 entries from 52 countries were submitted, and only 5.5% of the entries win a prize, it means achieving the Red Dot Award an outstanding feat of accomplishment.
This child car seat has changed the road safety market. For more information on the new child car seat, please visit www.trafold.co.uk