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

[VickyLouT]

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?

@DiddyHeck

Yes i do believe that. People are generally more careful when a baby is invovled. As pps have pointed out irs s twisted mentality but people do tend to value a babies life more as they are so frsgile and vunerable. They are less likely to want to start road rage or racing with a car with a baby in it than just an adult.

If it adds to the safety of my driving experience even by just a tiny bit why wouldnt i do it? I have nothing to lose by not.

Meh
My mum bought one after some random had a go at her for parking in a parent and child space - she has tinted windows in the back so they couldn't see the baby seat and presumably saw the middle aged woman getting out and immediately had a go.

I thought it was just an indication to the rest of the world that you’re very precious

I joined Mumsnet in 2006. People were arguing about those signs even back then. And still arguing about them now.

Personally have no problem with them.

@ThatsNotMyGolem

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

Nah, not buying that I'm afraid.

@ThatsNotMyGolem

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

So you're assuming the car is so wrecked so badly that you can't tell if there was a car seat there, but a little yellow square in the back window has survived.

They irrationally make my blood boil! So you have a child - so what? You're telling us all that to excuse your crappy driving? Can't control your kids in the car - you shouldn't be driving then. Sounds harsh but people use kids as an excuse for far too much bad behaviour.

Of course emergency services don’t look for that sign. Car seats are probably a bigger and more obvious indicator that a baby is on board! I think the signs are ridiculous and those that display them probably expect others to be extra careful around them or something.

Also the signs are never removed when the baby isn’t in the car - so what, the paramedics just keep searching because of a crappy gimmicky sign?!

Is the subtext of this whole thread basically an argument between people who think kids’ lives are more valuable than adults’ lives and people who don’t think they are?

Wouldn’t it be more interesting and authentic to just straight up have that argument? It just seems such an obtuse and disingenuous way to come at an interesting philosophical question.

@NNmumma6349

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.

God help us all if you'd rather look for a baby on board sticker on an intact window than look through it 🙄

julia no, it isn't.

@Mariposista

They irrationally make my blood boil! So you have a child - so what? You're telling us all that to excuse your crappy driving? Can't control your kids in the car - you shouldn't be driving then. Sounds harsh but people use kids as an excuse for far too much bad behaviour.

Really? To be saying if you have children you are a shit driver. OK then.

Until I read part of this thread (only first page I admit) I thought they were to tell the driver behind to pull back so as not to risk crashing into the car in front. That is telling me to drive more carefully because of their precious baby.

So annoying but on the other hand it does make me check I'm not too close, so kind of works (not that I deliberately drive too close behind others).

@Onelifeonly

Until I read part of this thread (only first page I admit) I thought they were to tell the driver behind to pull back so as not to risk crashing into the car in front. That is telling me to drive more carefully because of their precious baby.

So annoying but on the other hand it does make me check I'm not too close, so kind of works (not that I deliberately drive too close behind others).

I looked it up and found that's exactly what the person who came up with them intended

I thought the purpose of them was to try to discourage white van drivers/BMW drivers from driving up your backside. I have no idea if it works as I don’t have one, but I have noticed that there’s a certain kind of man who drives in a more intimidating way if he knows he’s behind a ‘woman driver’ And I think those signs advertise that it’s likely to be a woman driving. So I wouldn’t have one for that reason.

I have no idea if it works as I don’t have one

If they worked, literally every driver would have one regardless of whether they had kids or not...

I’m not sure of the point of them, every time I see one I say to myself oh right then I’ll not ram into the back of you like I would have otherwise 😂 Can’t get too worked up though as they are really common.

What a strange thing to get irritated about op. I have two, I drive fairly carefully and at the speed limit. I do not drive over the speed limit. If I get someone up my ass on an A road I like to think that they'll see the signs and back off. It may or may not work. I suggest that there are probably more important things to worry about atm.

Why not ‘No baby on board, feel free to ram’ ?

@Sparklingbrook

At what age do you remove the sign?

25, which is when Mumsnet considers children almost old enough to be left home alone.

@Sparklingbrook

I don't buy the emergency service thing. I mean you take the sign out once they were no longer a baby. You don't get '3 Year old on Board' signs.

If they were that important they would be mandatory.

There's always those terrible stick man family decals on the boot then the emergency services could use that for a head count.

I have seen “grandchild on board” ones. Also “Cheeky little monkey Darren/Little Princess Emily on board”, and a rather sanctimonious “Keep Your DISTANCE, give our CHILD a CHANCE” one. Best one was “Baby I’m Bored”.

Oh and “Mother to be on board”.

@KindlyKanga

So if you crash they know to look for a small person

Errr… but if the baby’s not actually on board today, the poor ambulance guy ends up returning to search a burning car for no reason

If these stickers are robust enough to survive a crash where the car is a total wreck then they should make cars out of them.
Like the black box of car crashes, clearly.