Baby on Board Signs

xzanti

Would it be a bit 'counting my chickens' of me to put my Baby on Board sign up now? Seeing as technically there IS a baby on board..

It's just recently I've noticed how fcuking stupid people can be on the roads, probably as I'm more protective of myself or whatever these days.. I'm sick to death of people driving up my arse on narrow roads and expecting me to speed up for them.. Maybe if I have my sign up they'll realise there's a reason I'm not breaking the limit for them :rolleyes:

Anyone else feel the same or am I just being really neurotic?

newmammy2011

Honestly I dont think it would make any difference at all!
If someone is a bad driver.....a sticker on your car is not going to make them drive more safely!
Also the orignal purpose of a baby on board sticker is to inform emergency services that there is a baby in the car in the event of an accident.

Boom_Bap

The sticker makes no difference at all.

EDIT: Oh, and congrats

Das Kitty

xzanti wrote: »

Would it be a bit 'counting my chickens' of me to put my Baby on Board sign up now? Seeing as technically there IS a baby on board..

It's just recently I've noticed how fcuking stupid people can be on the roads, probably as I'm more protective of myself or whatever these days.. I'm sick to death of people driving up my arse on narrow roads and expecting me to speed up for them.. Maybe if I have my sign up they'll realise there's a reason I'm not breaking the limit for them :rolleyes:

Anyone else feel the same or am I just being really neurotic?

I asked this question in the main parenting forum a few months ago. The consensus was that it wouldn't make a bit of difference to other peoples driving. In fact it could make them worse.

Terrifying I know but all you can do is drive as safely as you possibly can yourself.

deelite

I'm not pregnant and I won't break the speed limit. Drive at what speed your comfortable with. Good luck by the way.

r3nu4l

Don't bother with it. Believe me when I say that the Baby on Board sign is like a red rag to a bull for some drivers.

I've seen people on Motoring forums (not on boards) raging and ranting about these signs and the things they do to annoy, frighten and upset drivers of cars who have the signs (undertaking, tailgating for miles etc). Morons :mad:

Also, some people say that they have the signs on board because it helps emergency services realise they should be looking for a child if there's an accident. That's possibly the most moronic argument for having one in the car. Trust me, the emergency services ALWAYS look for children in cars and a Baby on Board sign makes no difference because most drivers with them simply leave them up in the car even when they DON'T have the baby on board.

I'm a proud father but even I despise these signs.

crazy cat lady

I don't think they make any difference. People can be very inconsiderate.

If someone is driving p your behind, drive at a safe speed and increase the distance between you and the car in front to give yourself a better braking distance

xzanti

r3nu4l wrote: »

I've seen people on Motoring forums (not on boards) raging and ranting about these signs and the things they do to annoy, frighten and upset drivers of cars who have the signs (undertaking, tailgating for miles etc). Morons :mad:
.

OMG :eek: how in the name of God could someone justify doing something like that? Christ it's only a sign to say you have a baby with you.. Are people that retarded?

The Big Red Button

xzanti wrote: »

OMG :eek: how in the name of God could someone justify doing something like that? Christ it's only a sign to say you have a baby with you.. Are people that retarded?

To be honest ... and not in ANY way defending the actions of people like that ... but isn't carrying a sign like that only asking for trouble?

"Oooh oooh oooh, I know you were ABOUT to crash into me, but purty please D'ONT because I have kiddzzies here!"

I mean, when I see a sign like that, I'm thinking, thanks for the warning, but I wasn't about to crash my car into you anyways ...

It just seems a bit pointless?

Nchd2010

Interesting.

FYI, the idea of the "baby on board" signs originated in a rural part of North America (I can't remember exactly where now) as a means of alerting paramedics or first responders to the fact that there was a baby in the car. There was some awful tragedy where the driver or something was unconscious and the baby wasn't seen by the medics.

I know that's really badly written, but still. The point I'm trying to make is that there is a good reason for these signs and if people didn't abuse them, they could serve a useful purpose.

And by abuse I mean put them up when there isn't a baby in the car. Potentially wasting the time of medics searching for a baby in the awful circumstance that an adverse event should occur.

Using signs to encourage people to drive more carefully around you is somewhat bizarre tbf.

DublinWriter

xzanti wrote: »

Anyone else feel the same or am I just being really neurotic?

I've gone through two 'Baby on Board' signs now. Neither will stick themselves to the back window no matter how much saliva I apply.

When I went to work this morning, the latest one had fell off and I just went 'meh...at least truckers will see it from that angle'.

xzanti

chatterpillar wrote: »

"Oooh oooh oooh, I know you were ABOUT to crash into me, but purty please D'ONT because I have kiddzzies here!"

Can't say I thought of them in that way tbh.. just a means to inform other motorists there is a baby in the car and asking them to be patient.. This is a huge eye opener for me I have to say..

I know for a fact that we will be nervous when driving our new born infant home from the hospital for instance.. I would have thought such a sign would be ideal to let people behind us know why we're taking our time.. I know it would always have made me cool my heals if I saw one.. and this is my first child..

Reading here, it sounds like I may aswel just paint a big target on my car and be done with it

Nchd2010

BTW I really don't think it's going to make a difference to other drivers if the sign is there or not. I really don't think anyone goes out with the intention of crashing into someone else because they're driving too slow or with too much care and attention. They might bang the horn or flash the lights or whatever if they're obnoxious, but crashing?? I just don't buy it.

Also, why would you want to decrease the visible space through your rear window??? Surely that's a wee bit silly tbf.

xzanti

They might bang the horn or flash the lights or whatever if they're obnoxious, but crashing?? I just don't buy it.

Banging the horn and flashing is going to distress/fluster the mother with the baby no? if a small little piece of plastic or whatever is going to appease an irate drive, then is it not worth sticking it up?

Also, why would you want to decrease the visible space through your rear window??? Surely that's a wee bit silly tbf

Well the one I have is fairly inconspicious tbh.. Infact you would only really see what it says if you're already up my backside.. so unless you're tailgating me you won't even know it's there to be bothered by it...

Nchd2010

Banging the horn and flashing is going to distress/fluster the mother with the baby no? if a small little piece of plastic or whatever is going to appease an irate drive, then is it not worth sticking it up?

No. Appeasing drivers is not the purpose of these signs. And really because they're abused so much, nobody cares about them. My next door neighbour bought four signs as soon as she got out of hospital. Two for her own car, two for her mother's. The baby is definitely not in both cars. This isn't an isolated incident and the use of the signs is now utterly pointless due to this kind of silliness.

Well the one I have is fairly inconspicious tbh.

Right. Makes perfect sense really.

Oh and if you're flustered by horns and flashing lights......

Cathmandooo

I believe it's an urban myth that they were invented due to a baby being overlooked in a crash.

If you're worried about a baby being seen by a paramedic they'll see your baby seat much quicker than some small piece of plastic.

tbh I do think those signs annoy other drivers more than anything. Everyone should be careful while driving, if you're not a careful driver than a sign like that wont make any difference. It is also an unnecessary extra blockage to the rear view that you have, no matter how small a blockage, it's still an extra bit of behind you that you can't see.

Nchd2010

You're right. It probably is an urban myth tbf. Just like the urban myth that ATLS protocols and the standards of care for trauma patients were developed by a doctor who witnessed substandard care of his family in a regional hospital:rolleyes:

chickenpoo

Nchd2010 wrote: »

You're right. It probably is an urban myth tbf. Just like the urban myth that ATLS protocols and the standards of care for trauma patients were developed by a doctor who witnessed substandard care of his family in a regional hospital:rolleyes:

Yep, urban myth http://www.snopes.com/horrors/parental/babysign.asp

xzanti

Oh and if you're flustered by horns and flashing lights..

I never said I was flustered by them, I've been driving for a good few years now, I'm well used to the roads at this stage.

I'm saying in theory, it's hardly a good idea to be intimidating a young mother on the roads with such behaviour when she has a small baby in the car..

January

People can be arseholes when they see the sign, then again, people are just arseholes whether there's a sign there or not.

We replaced our car (I won't say bought a new one cos it's not new ) back in May and never bothered putting a new baby on board sign up, it doesn't help. Besides it's hard finding them these days because they only have "Little Princess on Board" (father in law wanted one of those for his car for when he was driving DD around, once in a blue moon :O I told him not too haha), "Little Monkey on Board" or the associating football club supporter "on board"... whatever happened to just the standard signs...

Nchd2010

I always go to snopes when I want a reliable, irrefutable source of information.

Cat Melodeon

I used to drive a Micra and was regularly tailgated, overtaken dangerously, undertaken, you name it, it happened. When my baby was born, I got one of these signs and if anything, a certain type of driver's aggression became worse. Changed the car last May, took down the sign, and the roads have become a different place for me now. I'm the same driver, I drive exactly the same way as I did before (safely and well, don't speed, don't drive maddeningly slowly either, never had a penalty point, an accident, a parking ticket or even a scratch). Still get the odd eejit overtaking dangerously, but I don't get tailgated any more, even though I'm doing exactly the same speeds on the same stretches of roads as before.

Some drivers are wánkers. If they have some irrational preconception about the type of car you are driving, they will drive up your bum and generally harass you, whether you have a sign up or not. But I don't feel the sign helps, so I wouldn't bother with one if I were you.

xzanti

Thanks for the replies folks.. I think I'm going to give the signs a wide berth (scuse the pun )

I never would have thought they could provoke such attitudes on the roads but there ya go.. bit of a an eye opener!!

Guill

xzanti wrote: »

Would it be a bit 'counting my chickens' of me to put my Baby on Board sign up now? Seeing as technically there IS a baby on board..

It's just recently I've noticed how fcuking stupid people can be on the roads, probably as I'm more protective of myself or whatever these days.. I'm sick to death of people driving up my arse on narrow roads and expecting me to speed up for them.. Maybe if I have my sign up they'll realise there's a reason I'm not breaking the limit for them :rolleyes:

Anyone else feel the same or am I just being really neurotic?

Put it up, very few people pay attention to them but some do, congrats!

Optimalprimerib

Tbh if you are close enough to read that sign on the back of the car, you are too close.

likewhatever

you people write alot of shight. good luck with the baby and remember your not the first person to have one.

J2D2

I'm a bit shocked that people could get so offended by a sign in the back of a car. Its not a personal attack on anyone's driving abilities, it's only asking people to be a bit more careful around them. It's not like parents go out with the sign up and drive around until they find someone who's driving they've always found to be bad and make sure that they see the sign, thus somehow conveying the message that they disapprove of their driving ability.

In my experience people did tend to tailgate less when the sign was up, so it did seem to help out a bit. We don't bother with it any more but we only took it down out of laziness and being fed up with sticking it back up. People need to relax and stop assuming parents think everyone sucks at driving, but to be fair, there are a lot of dangerous cocky drivers out there and if they'll actually take heed of a sign like this then great.

Just don't get offended, because you shouldn't be, unless your driving is just that bad and your self conscious about it, in which case, please get the hell off the roads!

Dancor

Im really suprised hearing the stories in this thread.

To answer the question, Halfords and most motor consort stores would stock these.

If you decide to pick one up early they might be handy for parking in mother and child spots at shopping centres

implausible

To be honest OP, I think you'd get some very funny looks if someone saw the sign and then saw that you hadn't a baby on board... yet. Are you parking in the Mother & Child spaces too?:D

If expecting people to be more considerate on the road is the purpose of these signs, then shouldn't there be 'old dear driving', 'gossiping mother-in-law on board', 'I'm a nervous driver' or 'My right leg isn't great' signs too? People should be considerate of other road users, they aren't always. No sign is going to change that. All you can do is drive at a reasonable speed, obey the rules of the road and leave a good space in front of you for overtaking or pull over if someone is up your ass.

r3nu4l

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

Tbh if you are close enough to read that sign on the back of the car, you are too close.

You don't have to be close to read the Baby on Board signs, they are normally bright yellow and 'diamond' shaped. If you can't see that from 50 Metres away then there's something wrong.

I think that sticking one up while you are pregnant is too pre-emptive. Wait until you at least have a car-seat in the back with a baby in it. That said, I still think they are pointless.

fenris

Pointless and tacky a bit like wearing PJ's in the street, they basically just say "wohoo look at me I have kids" but no class.

Anybody who matters will know it already, or in the event of an accident there are plenty of clues, ranging from the sprogs, sprog seats or the fact that your car is half full of kiddie stuff (ranging from toys to mouldy bananas if it anything like mine).

When I see those signs I just take it as a clue that puts the car into the accident waiting to happen category as the person has chosen to restrict their vision (notice the higher frequency of dents in the back of such cars) and is potentially cooing or faffing with a baby on the move.
I expect the driver to do something stupid so I am not inclined to let them pull out in front of me or give any leeway when changing lanes etc. it is strict Rules of the Road as I don't want them in a position near me or my kids where they can put us at risk, they can have their accident/drama behind me.

A lot of judgment based on a sign but you have to take the clues available, if I am wrong in a given case, then there is no problem as we are following the rules of the road, if I am correct then at least we are not in the middle of the mess.

Congrats BTW!

Penny Dreadful

Personally I hate those signs with a passion. I also hate people who put cuddly soft toys on the back window of their car too, put bumper stickers, furry dice etc.
Back to the signs though:o I am going to drive safely because I do not want to be in a crash and hurt myself and selfish and all as it may be I am going to put my safety first and foremost and so by default all those that have kids in their car are going to be as safe as they would be with or without having displayed the fact that they have reproduced.
Incidently some of the worst driving I have seen on the roads came from a woman who had such a sign up in her car and yet hadn't placed her children either in car seats or put seat belts around them. Said mother was also drinking a coffee, applying makeup and using some hair iron device and she wanted other drivers to be safe because of her kids:rolleyes:

Das Kitty

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Personally I hate those signs with a passion. I also hate people who put cuddly soft toys on the back window of their car too, put bumper stickers, furry dice etc.
Back to the signs though:o I am going to drive safely because I do not want to be in a crash and hurt myself and selfish and all as it may be I am going to put my safety first and foremost and so by default all those that have kids in their car are going to be as safe as they would be with or without having displayed the fact that they have reproduced.
Incidently some of the worst driving I have seen on the roads came from a woman who had such a sign up in her car and yet hadn't placed her children either in car seats or put seat belts around them. Said mother was also drinking a coffee, applying makeup and using some hair iron device and she wanted other drivers to be safe because of her kids:rolleyes:

Did you take her numberplate and contact the police / trafficwatch?

Turbulent Bill

fenris wrote: »

When I see those signs I just take it as a clue that puts the car into the accident waiting to happen category as the person has chosen to restrict their vision (notice the higher frequency of dents in the back of such cars) and is potentially cooing or faffing with a baby on the move.
I expect the driver to do something stupid so I am not inclined to let them pull out in front of me or give any leeway when changing lanes etc. it is strict Rules of the Road as I don't want them in a position near me or my kids where they can put us at risk, they can have their accident/drama behind me.

Bingo, more often than not the "Baby on Board" sign just signals that the driver can and will behave like an idiot, but they think it's ok because they have kids. I've never felt the urge to crash into another vehicle, and a sign in someone's back window won't change that.

Just in case this sounds like a maniac driver rant, I'm an expectant father and my OH floated the idea of these signs recently - didn't get very far!

melsbells

I've just read thru this whole thread and never thought these signs upset people so much! I've seen them on cars and pre pregnancy all they ever made me think was, wow, bet the inside of your car smells like crap:D

when hubby found out our news the biggest thing for us was getting rid of our car, our 'baby' and pride n joy, for a sensible, 5 door with a big boot!!!
we did(and still do) own a highly modified, japanese performance car, you think a sign made people look at you differently, try a bumper cable tied together!!!!
everyone on the road stayed well back, even my mum on one rare trip to the shops with me noticed it, everyone thought we were yobs, even tho we both have very good jobs, house, paid huge tax, insurance etc, we're just normal folks. we're not in the habit of hoodies and trackies!
but from reading this i think we shud get rid of the family car(and the baby on board) sign and bring back the old car, maybe if other people on the road still thought we were holligans they'd stay away from us and our little bundle will be safe from all the crazies on the roads???!!!!

xzanti

This thread haunts my soul :pac:

I've since got a brand new car and have no intention of defacing it with any signs or stickers..

Interesting to see peoples points of view on them though..

DublinWriter

J2D2 wrote: »

I'm a bit shocked that people could get so offended by a sign in the back of a car. Its not a personal attack on anyone's driving abilities, it's only asking people to be a bit more careful around them.

I can't say I'm shocked myself. The negative attitudes here are just reflecting the new tetchiness that seems to be pervasive among younger Irish motorists.

As a father myself, I have a BOB sign in the back of my car. Why? It's a bit of fun, it makes me smile when I head back to the car after a hard days grind. I seriously don't expect it to act as a deterrent to others not to rear-end me.