to think that "Baby on Board" signs in cars are ridiculous?

If you are distracted from your driving by a baby on board sign I would suggest you are the one who should not be driving!

Ignore the "it's been done before" crowd, kt. Yes, baby on board signs have been discussed on here before.

However, so has every other subject under the sun. Everything you can think of has already been discussed. Most of it on here and certainly somewhere, by someone. So if we didn't talk about something because it "has been done before", all we'd have on mumsnet would be

And everyone reading the archives to catch up on what's been said before, by other people - but nobody ever chatting, because "it's been done before" and apparently conversations are a one time only gig.

So talk about it. Talk about whatever the hell you want! It may have been done before, but not by you and not by many people on here who might want to talk about it with you.

Agree with fibilou - any signs on cars are a distraction, the most irratating ones are Little Princess on Board, makes you wanna puke!

I'd love to make my own sign:

Woman with PMT onboard
Do YOU feel lucky?

Meaning, don't annoy me or I'll rip your head off . Now that would make them keep their distance.

I've never felt the need to have one.
There's a car on my school run with a princess girl one on one side and a blue boy one on the other - quite a lot of unnecessary blind spot really.
I also know a little boy who's parents have got 'naughty person on board' - I feel quite for him.

Makes me want to drive in to the back of them! Complete fuckwiths.

Thank-you MayorQuimby and fibilou - I'll go and write out 100 times "Baby on Board stickers have nothing to do with alerting the emergency services, it is an urban myth!"

I detest these stickers though I would like a baby on roof sign.

I'm sure that the emergency services dont need the sign but they do ask, when my bil totally wrecked his car, going off an elevated section and had to be cut out etc. and stretched off with a broken neck one of the paramedics was very insistant about getting him to tell them if there was a child in the car (thankfully not) as there was a pfb sign.

As a member of the emergency services I can confidently say we do not require some poxy stupid sign with "baby on board". Things like toys, nappies etc in the car are usually a good giveaway that there may be a child on board.

I loathe the things, they are a distraction to other drivers and if I were responsible for these things I would ban anything extraneous inside cars (including music, sat navs, phones and those stupid dangling things off mirrors) as the majority of accidents are caused by distracted drivers.

As for the sign giving the driver some sort of licence to drive badly, if you can't control your children sufficiently to drive at a competetent level you should not be on the road.

"I believe that the original reason for these signs was so that, in the event of an accident, the emergency services knew that there should be a child in the car."

Absolute myth. they sprang up as a tacky novelty on the high-ways of America for proud new parents to show off and they caught on everywhere. Nothing to do with safety at all.

It is the "on board" bit that really irritates me - if it just said "there is a baby in this car" that would be fine. You used to be able to buy one which said "Baby, I'm bored"

UpYpurViva that's what I've always thought they were for - if I see a car with one in I tend to keep my distance a bit more, and be prepared for them being more hesitant at junctions/roundabouts rather than just jumping out at speed in front of cars.

I should put one in my car "over-wrought mother of three on board" so people will know if they cut me up or otherwise piss me off there is a good chance I will chase them and possibly sever some limbs.

Would be handy for other drivers I imagine?

I was sure I'd heard it on something like Watchdog or Nationwide - but then my memory is pretty unreliable at the best of times.

Arent they there to kind of warn other drivers to maybe be a little more patient or carefull as you have a child or baby on board? thats what mine is for, dunno if it works but it may prevent some tosser getting too close to my car

I like your logic MuminScotland - bang on I'd say! lol.

The safety side is an urban myth - they were never intended as an alert to the emergency services, just as an "I'm so excited I want to tell the world I have a baby" sign.

Personally, I like to see them in cars, as I mentally translate them as "Sleep-deprived and/or very distracted driver on board" and watch out for them doing something unexpected and stupid.

parp

I believe that the original reason for these signs was so that, in the event of an accident, the emergency services knew that there should be a child in the car. This was in the days before compulsory seatbelts/car seats, when a small child could be thrown from a car during an accident, and might land somewhere where they couldn't be seen.

If this is true, then I don't see much point in these signs nowadays.

and OP - I agree with you. I think they are silly. If I have a baby I won't get one. They irritate me and we are all allowed to get irritated so don't worry YANBU to find something irritating. I dislike them as much as I dislike the ones which say 'babe on board' or 'Dad's Taxi'. They are not even amusing.

Saw someone a few months ago driving a car with 'Mum to be on board' now that's bordering on the ridiculous!