Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To find Baby on board car signs pointless and rather irritating.

255 replies

VickyLouT · 27/02/2022 11:57

I just don't get it. What purpose do these signs serve? I totally understand why you might wear a baby on board badge on the tube, that has a purpose. But why a car sign? Are other drivers supposed to be behave differently around you "more safely" or perhaps just be forewarned that you may have poor driving or parking as you may be sleep deprived. Aibu to find this pointless signalling irritating? Maybe someone with one of these signs share why?

OP posts:
PastMyBestBeforeDate · 27/02/2022 12:58

Istayed :)

formalineadeline · 27/02/2022 12:59

For instance. in a bad smash, sometimes small children can be catapulted out of the vehicle altogether, and it alerts them to look, just in case.

How crap do you think emergency services are that it wouldn't occur to them to check all occupants have been rescued and nobody was thrown out of the vehicle?

DiddyHeck · 27/02/2022 13:00

For instance. in a bad smash, sometimes small children can be catapulted out of the vehicle altogether, and it alerts them to look, just in case.

Do you realise how insulting that is to the emergency services?

Do you seriously think they're not trained to look regardless of whether there's a cheap plastic sign in the window?

SmudgeButt · 27/02/2022 13:02

I'm going to get a "person on board" sign so the accident responders know to look for me behind the steering wheel.

formalineadeline · 27/02/2022 13:03

I do wonder if some posters have actually seen what a car looks like after a serious crash where they claim one of these stickers would be life-saving.

SnowyPetals · 27/02/2022 13:05

I think people are reading way too much into this! Most car signs are a small piece of personal indulgence on the part of the owner, be it for a baby, a dog or a "my other car is..." type thing.

Sparklingbrook · 27/02/2022 13:06

@SmudgeButt

I'm going to get a "person on board" sign so the accident responders know to look for me behind the steering wheel.
Grin
Sunsetzs · 27/02/2022 13:07

Your baby might be the most important thing in your life, but they're not going to give a shit or even know if you've got a baby in your car for that matter.

And yet people do feel that way. Someone up-thread said a man apologised to her for being reckless with his car, saying "I didn't realise you had a baby". It absolutely does make a difference to some people who value children's lives more.

I can very much imagine someone causing a crash and watching the victims being pulled out of the car, being more upset with themselves when an injured child is pulled out of the car then they would have been had it "just" been adults.

FazedNotPhased · 27/02/2022 13:07

@SmudgeButt

I'm going to get a "person on board" sign so the accident responders know to look for me behind the steering wheel.
Be your own precious cargo Wink
xXwhenwillitendXx · 27/02/2022 13:07

I use mine so t**ts don't drive right on the bumper of my car because they don't like the fact I'm sticking to the speed limit. Have often found they still do drive up my arse so probably pretty pointless.

Bywayofanupdate · 27/02/2022 13:08

Not as ittitating as 'yummy mummy on board' and such like

lochmaree · 27/02/2022 13:09

we have one 😬 I didnt realise they were so hated! I am a careful driver, obey speed limits and we take other safety precautions re car use - up to date car maintenance, erf seat for DS, secure dog guard to prevent stuff flying into the cabin from the boot (no dog!), cabin kept as clear as possible, first aid kit, window smasher and seat belt knife in the car, seat protector with built in crash tested screen holder for DS. I'd also like to do the advanced driver course but haven't got the time at the moment.

so I genuinely thought that the sign might add a bit of extra info about who could be in the car!

Sparklingbrook · 27/02/2022 13:09

If they magically make other road users give me a wide berth and drive very carefully around me I might just get one. My babies are 19 and 22 but that should be ok.

oakleaffy · 27/02/2022 13:10

They are utterly pointless.
People leave them in the vehicle when there is no BOB, and surely any baby would be restrained and in a seat.

They still can't beat “Show dogs in transit “ that Dad saw- That was very silly.

formalineadeline · 27/02/2022 13:10

SmudgeButt Wanna go into business? We could make a fortune selling signs to all these people who think the emergency services are too dim-witted to check for vehicle occupants.

saamantha19881 · 27/02/2022 13:11

I use one on the vain hope that it will be a white van man or BMW driver think twice about driving right up my

tokyo1 · 27/02/2022 13:12

I used to have one as I thought it was the done thing but then it fell off. After I joined MN I realised it was such a contentious subject, as many things are on here, so I left it off Grin

ThatsNotMyGolem · 27/02/2022 13:14

My friend is a paramedic and he says these signs can be helpful if the car is a proper wreck

formalineadeline · 27/02/2022 13:15

so I genuinely thought that the sign might add a bit of extra info about who could be in the car!

You know enough to have a window hammer/seatbelt cutter, but you genuinely thought a window sticker would help?

HoldingTheDoor · 27/02/2022 13:18

My friend is a paramedic and he says these signs can be helpful if the car is a proper wreck

So the car is such a wreck that they can't see a car seat or baby but they can somehow still see a 4 inch sticker or sign that's attached to a substance that's designed to shatter into tiny fragments in the event of a major impact? That seems logical.

Againstmachine · 27/02/2022 13:23

so I genuinely thought that the sign might add a bit of extra info about who could be in the car!

Could be in the car. If you are wanting them to serve that purpose then you remove them whenever there isn't a baby on board.

ShowOfHands · 27/02/2022 13:24

@ThatsNotMyGolem

My friend is a paramedic and he says these signs can be helpful if the car is a proper wreck
My BIL is a paramedic, DH and SIL are police officers. They pay them no attention whatsoever. Occasionally, they wonder whether the signs and hanging shit and political stickers have obscured their view and contributed to an accident but that's about it.
NNmumma6349 · 27/02/2022 13:27

For my sins, Paramedic here. Contrary to belief If the back window is intact my colleagues & I do briefly look out for them alongside signs & stickers showing disability’s, chemicals or potential gasses onboard. If we’re first on scene one of us will also do a brief walk around the vehicle to assess the damage to give us an indication of potential injury severity. Children & those less abled aren’t able to extract themselves or often even tell us how they are feeling. They are then assessed first and often prioritised for extraction. Common sense is used when searching for occupants are windows all intact, are the seat belts on unoccupied seats open or closed, is it within nursery or school hours & so on. Police and or fire colleagues will also do their own due diligence to search & make any relevant calls.

Each to their own but the signs certainly used & help in my trust area.

babybythesea · 27/02/2022 13:28

I don’t generally give it any thought.
There have however been two occasions when I’d wished I had one.

Driving my first baby home from the hospital. And then driving my second baby home from the hospital.

This was because my main wish was a bit unrealistic- ideally roads between the hospital and my house would have been closed to all other traffic, there would have been some sort of (possibly armed) escort and some way of smoothing every bump in the road before we got to it. As it was, we settled for driving approximately half a mile an hour, slowing to a near standstill for the speed bumps, while I sat next to the baby in the back seat checking them for possible travel induced injury every three seconds or so. And wincing as the stitches were jarred.

A baby on board signal might have explained to everyone else why we were driving so neurotically. But even then a sign saying ‘hours old baby on board’ might have been an even better option- I think I’ve found the gap in the market- sell them in hospital shops and you’d make a fortune.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 27/02/2022 13:29

@Bywayofanupdate

Not as ittitating as 'yummy mummy on board' and such like
Oh no, that one's very helpful for the emergency services to know the driver is so much more worth saving than a normal mummy

Actaually that makes me think that in this mythical car crash where the naked eye isn't sufficient to spot people and car seats what happens if an eagle eyed policeperson spots the corner of a yellow sign, digs through the wreckage only to find it was a yummy mummy one. I'd expect a che of wasting police time at the very least Grin