Do baby on board signs help emergency services, interested to hear from actual emergencyservices?

[Dinodigs]

I was recently talking to someone about baby on board signs and came across two different view points and wondered what the actual truth is and if they treat cars with stickers differently.

Friend one was saying the usual things about how they help emergency services know to look for a baby, which is what I've heard before

Friend two mentioned her police officer dad had told her to consider not getting one because he actually views them as more of a risk (in terms of people targeting vulnerability when cars parked, by your house etc) especially the stick figure family kind.

He also said that it doesnt make a difference to responses as they scan the whole car anyway (they wouldnt just not check the back properly, because there wasn't a sticker), that they would notice car seats, that 70% of the time cars with the sticker have no baby in them so they take them with a pinch of salt. Police officer dad said that it was more designed for times where babies were in arms, and that modern car seats are pretty immovable and bulky enough that they wouldnt slip under seats like a loose baby used to be able to.

I wondered what the actual truth is? Everyone seems to think it doesn't make a difference but to have one just incase

I know that I was once advised that the warning sleeves for car seats (eg non verbal, combative child) are better than stickers because they get crumpled on glass in accidents

Its also true that when mine were little that I had a sticker in my car, dad's car and actually grandparents bought themselves a sticker. 90% of our driving was work driving with no baby in the car, but no body took them down

I get that a minority of people might want them so people are more understanding if they’re driving cautiously - but yes, I also think this

You don’t see people with “I have car sickness / plant pots on board / birthday cake on board / incompetent driver on board”, they just get on with it.

It’s a bit cringe. I’ve never feel the need for a baby on board sign. Just drive normally.

I had a car overtake me on a dual carriageway pull in and suddenly slam their breaks on. I only just braked on time. I didn’t have one of those stickers but my young children were visible in the back. My cousin who is a police officer said this is classic ‘crash for cash’ tactics. Someone spots either an elderly driver or a parent with young kids and tries to get the driver to crash into them so they can claim for whiplash etc, stating the driver clearly had poor reactions due to being elderly / distracted by kids. These stickers simply advertise that you are a tired, distracted driver and make you much more likely to be targeted. I’d avoid.

But you should be driving carefully and safely whether you have your baby with you or not. The same as I’m not more likely to be driving poorly around someone without a sticker, I’ll will do my utmost to not crash into you whether you have a baby or not.

Whenever I see them I can't help thinking that they decrease the driver's rear vision and are therefore a hazard.

I take them to mean 'Shit driver probably distracted by a child'.

It's pretty insulting to first responders to think this surely. I agree.

I got one purely as I drove over speed bumps very, very slow. PFB!

They're a pointless gimmick, like so much other tat nowadays.

I doubt a completely reckless driver is going to be more careful just because he sees a sticker, that's if he even notices it at all.. And most car accidents are just that, accidents. Someone bumped me from behind recently. Just a lapse of concentration, an accident. I doubt she'd have been able to avoid it better had she known a child might be in the back seat,it was an accident, that's that.

Sounss like they need to affix these stickers to a few unmarked cars then and catch them

I have one on my car, but not for emergency responders, but for other drivers. I find they generally give a wider berth than when I use my husband´s car which doesn´t have one.

Yeah I definitely don't think it's about first responders!
Sometimes I think would it make a dangerous driver think twice if they saw it. But they're hardly thinking of others doing it in the first place - it's not like the rest of our lives don't matter!

Interesting you noticed a difference. I didn't think people took much notice and carry on with their usual ways.

This question has been generating pages of arguments on internet forums for 20 years! Surely all this time later people are sophisticated enough to know that’s an urban legend?

and no they’re not saying hooray were fertile /twee/ we’re special etc etc it’s just a bloody car sign. And really used nowadays as it’s so old fashioned hence my surprise people are still talking about it

I have never used them and frankly think they are ridiculous. As if other drivers are going to be more careful because the little life in one car is more important than all the other lives in all the other cars…

I wonder at what age your life becomes less important than that of a small child?

I agree, it’s as if other drivers will start driving differently around them because having a child makes them special, but will happily plough into anyone else’s car. It just looks ridiculous.

I like the baby on board badges pregnant women wear on the tube. I once pounced on a free seat before realising that it had been freed for a woman who was pregnant. She wasn't wearing a badge.

Far less embarrassing to spot the badge and offer.

Literally noone is losing sleep over this LOL
Neither is anyone eaten up with "hatred".

You can think something is daft, pointless and twee without feeling hatred or rage you know!

I never thought they were for first responders - that's actually quite a good idea! I thought that they were signalling "excuse my driving - a small person is shouting at me" kind of thing! But that reflects my driving...

I commuted in London both pregnancies - I wore a badge on my bag strap so people behind me could see it... it stopped me being shoved and pushed.

I would recommend to anyone.

Snopes have done a rather good fact check on this particular rumour https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/baby-on-board/

@wishingonastar101 , do you really think that first responders need a sign to tell them to check if there's a young child in a car?

I was offered a seat on a train and being the wrong side of 50, I thought 'Oh no, he thinks I'm a little old lady!'.

I found them insufferably twee as well and couldn't bring myself to wear one. Although they do have an actual purpose beyond the tweeness, unlike the car ones, but I couldn't get over the cringe factor.

Its also true that when mine were little that I had a sticker in my car, dad's car and actually grandparents bought themselves a sticker. 90% of our driving was work driving with no baby in the car, but no body took them down

This is true. It reminds me of the small shops that sometimes have stickers that say "Come on in, we're open!" on the door. Not signs on a hook with 'open' on one side and 'closed' on the other, that they can turn around as appropriate, but actual permanent stuck-on stickers that can't be moved and, unless it's a convenience store with long opening hours, are probably a lie for much longer than they are true!!

Yes, this. There's nothing at all wrong with them if you want them for decoration and you're proud of your kids, but they have as much actual practical use as go-faster stripes, furry dice hanging over the rear-view mirror and banners that say "On a Mission" in the back window.

Do you take risks when you’re driving without your baby in the car?