12 or 8 Seater for 9 ?

[Phog]

What is the legal requirement for safety belts for kids? Would we get away with an eight seater for a group of 9 - one child is a baby, or do we need a 12 seater?

With regards to the 12 seater:
- What licence is required?
- How big is the van?
- How easy is it to drive?
- What kind of vision have you when parking/reversing?

Thanx in advance.

[pieman790]

Would say that if it only has 8 seats then it will only be insured to carry 8 people including the baby. The 12 seaters are quite big but it will have power steering and im sure you dont need a special licence.

[djdigitald]

Phog, the problem you will find with a 12 seater is that all it is is an 8 seater with an extra row of seats so you will loose the Luggage space. We were in the same predicament as you and 9 people(1 being a small child) and we opted for a 15 Seater as the extra space and seats would carry all our luggage.

[GrahamC]

The baby will have to be in its own safety seat strapped to an ordinary one, so you wlii need a twelve seater. They are not to big, and fairly easy to park etc.

I agree that you don't need a special license.

[Tonish]

Hi Phog

Have you considered 2 cars?

Last year we booked an 8 seater and an intermediate car for my parents to use. When we arrived and got the keys for the 8 seater (it is exactly the same as a 12 seater but with one less row of seats), we took one look at it and went back to change to a 7 seater. We thought it was just too big and ugly. My wife wouldn't have felt comfortable driving it at all, and we're used to driving big cars.

2 cars also gives a lot more flexibility - you aren't all going to the same places at the same time?

[mizzy]

we used a 8 seater for the 8 of us but if we had had the 12 we could have seperated the kids when they where getting a little fractious

i would go for the bigger the better option if i were you[msnwink]

2 cars means you can split up but if your on a budget it also doubles the parking costs at the theme parks

Mizzy

I would not even concsider an 8 seater for 9[msneek] It would mean one person would not be selt belted[msnscared]which is madness in my view[msnwink]

[Bazamor]

Your problem will be luggage to and from the airport if you have the 8 seater. Just not enough room for 8 people and 4 or 5 cases. Go bigger or get 2 cars i would say.

[Mick-H]

We bit the bullet and decided on a 4x4 and an economy for our party of 9, a little more expensive but should work out better, plenty of room for luggage and also offers flexibility on places to visit

[steph_goodrum]

Phog
The legal requirement for children is that any child under 6 must be in a properly fitted, appropriate child seat/booster for their size and weight.