silly poll... baby on board sign?

smurf · May 27, 2007

I keep wavering on this one... on the one hand, it seems like a good idea to let other drivers know that you've got a small passenger on board, to be careful around your precious bundle, and on the other hand it seems, well, silly, but I'm not sure exactly why.

So, are you for or against Baby on board signs, and why?

supercrunch · May 27, 2007

I think they're kind of silly.

I doubt anyone will drive any differently than they already do no matter what you have displayed on your vehicle.

that...and, you can't be too careful these days. I wouldn't want to make my child or myself a target for any type of crime.

cdncasper · May 27, 2007

I have a twins on board sign since I thought it was so neat and you never see one like that.

mommycat · May 27, 2007

I have a BOB sign (well, I did, and will again, my old one disintegrated after 2 years in the sun).

I think they are a good idea, and I don't think they are intended to tell people to drive more carefully around you. Instead, I figure the point of them is to tell people they need to check the car for a (trapped) child in case of an accident. Say the car crashes and is in danger of burning but noone thinks to check the back seat...

skaterbabs · May 27, 2007

No, but not because I don't want people knowing I have children with me. (Don't the car seats kind of give it away anyway?

)
I don't use them because in a crash the little suction cups will come off the windows and those signs would HURT if you got hit in the head with them the wrong way.
:twocents:

Years ago I saaw a bumper sticker that said "baby on board", it was a baby on a surfboard. LOL

Shelsy · May 27, 2007

I don't have one. Before kids, I thought, "That is so silly. As if I was going to ram you but now that I know you have a Baby in there, I won't." Now with kids, I think a sign like that might explain why I'm driving erratically - cuz I have two kids fighting 2 feet behind me and my hand is frantically swiping at them

Kiddding.

I was a "Man on Broad" sign once, made me laugh.

LuvBug · May 27, 2007

In my slightly paranoid opinion

the vast majority of people dont care who is in the car, if they want to cut you off they will... kwim?
So advertising that you have a baby on board will likely only attract creeps. Sure there will be the occasional person who respects that you have a baby on board... but mostly it will be useless or harmful IMO.

southpawboston · May 27, 2007

i think they are silly and also a bit self righteous. why should someone tell me to be more careful than i normally am? are their passengers more worthy of caution than other passengers in other cars? don't all vehicles on the road deserve the same treatment? i treat everyone on the road the same in terms of the caution i exercise... if i give "extra caution" to cars with those silly signs then that infers that i give less caution to other drivers, which i do not. plus it's one more thing in your window to obstruct your view.

as for the sign being a warning to rescuers in the event of an accident or fire, my concern is that some people may not actually have kids in the car at the time of an accident. if a rescuer didn't find any kids in the car and saw that sign, he may be tempted to put himself in harm's way by going back and continuing to look for the nonexistant child. i think it's standard practice for rescue workers to look pretty thoroughly for any passengers, with or without a sign.

skaterbabs, that surfer sign is cool :thumbsup:.

skaterbabs · May 27, 2007

southpawboston said:
skaterbabs, that surfer sign is cool :thumbsup:.

I thought so too - so much so that I bought it and I wasn't even pg yet! lol The boys got a hold of it thought, so I never got to use it. That's ok - the baby was holding a big fat bottle anyway.

broken4u05 · May 27, 2007

I would use a twins on board sign if the boys were mine but because i do not always have them with me i do not. And i would not have that sign if i did not have twins (i think the twins sign is cool lol)

mommycat · May 28, 2007

southpawboston said:
as for the sign being a warning to rescuers in the event of an accident or fire, my concern is that some people may not actually have kids in the car at the time of an accident. if a rescuer didn't find any kids in the car and saw that sign, he may be tempted to put himself in harm's way by going back and continuing to look for the nonexistant child. i think it's standard practice for rescue workers to look pretty thoroughly for any passengers, with or without a sign.

I wasn't really thinking rescue workers so much as helpful passers-by but I see your point. Ideally parents should remove the sign from the window when the kids are not in the car, but since no one does this, and since no-one seems to think this is what the signs are for, maybe they are just an annoyance to the general public.

It does make my friend's car easier to find in the mall parking lot though.

I look for the right car and then make sure there's a sign, then check to see if I have the right car by looking in at the carseat. Then I can be sure she is inside.

Splash · May 28, 2007

I think they are perhaps one of the stupidest car accessories ever sold. They were popular in the eighties. The eighties are over. Move on with life.

They don't change the way I drive, and they certainly would not change whether or not I jumped into a burning car to look for a child. They wouldn't change it for a fire fighter, either. They DO check the back seat. They DON'T run around the car looking for bumper stickers or cutesy little decals.

Morganthe · May 28, 2007

southpawboston said:
as for the sign being a warning to rescuers in the event of an accident or fire, my concern is that some people may not actually have kids in the car at the time of an accident. if a rescuer didn't find any kids in the car and saw that sign, he may be tempted to put himself in harm's way by going back and continuing to look for the nonexistant child. i think it's standard practice for rescue workers to look pretty thoroughly for any passengers, with or without a sign.

There was a debate about the sign on one of my English canine fancier websites I frequent several years ago. Apparently, they were originally designed to inform emergency personnel to look for children who possibly had been ejected from vehicles during accidents.

The signs came out in either Australia or UK in the late 1980s or early 1990s. When they arrived in the US, everyone thought they were cute or 'warning other drivers to behave'...

Now that (hopefully), car seat usage is up, there's not as much concern about locating lost children, but the signs were never advertised for such use over here, so they became a vanity issue, imo.

Personally, I think they're kind of worthless and are aimed at those parents who like bumper stickers saying "My child is an honor student at ______"

I've seen Australian vendors at the military bazaars with all kind of 'warning' signs. Some are very cute, especially dealing with wallabys & sharks

Patriot201 · May 28, 2007

skaterbabscpst said:
Years ago I saaw a bumper sticker that said "baby on board", it was a baby on a surfboard. LOL

LOL! That's cute!

ThreeBeans · May 28, 2007

I hit 'no' but that's just cause I think they're dumb

I have carseats in the back of my car and parenting-related bumper stickers. It won't take a genius to figure out I have kids in my car. The 'advertisement' thing doesn't bother me. I just think they're silly.

Simplysomething · May 28, 2007

smurf said:
So, are you for or against Baby on board signs, and why?

None of the choices fit for me.
I don't think it's a good safety device.
People can tell my baby is riding with me...by looking in my car and seeing the baby.
And..I can make up my mind. I don't think they are necessary.

(AND FTR, I decided to put DS1's honor student bumper sticker on the car. lol)

Loves2sing · May 28, 2007

I think the signs are kind of stupid. Not only do they not make me want to drive "safer" around those vehicles, but I wouldn't want one on my car because I usually drive a little more agressively when dd is not in the car. So it makes me look like the unfit parent because I am speeding with my child in the back, even though she's not actually there. KWIM?

My fil in law told my sil very firmly that she better not buy one of those signs for her car when she got pregnant, because he hates them so much. I laughed, cause he is one of the most patient level headed people you will ever meet.

Wineaux · May 28, 2007

They are only slightly less annoying than the ubiquitous "My kid is an honor student at XXXXXX."

I have though always wanted to make a bumper sticker that said "My kid is an honor student at the Angola State School, so don't screw with me!" Angola being our big State penitentary...

Melizerd · May 28, 2007

I voted no, but just because I think they are corny.

Connor's Mom · May 28, 2007

mommycat said:
I figure the point of them is to tell people they need to check the car for a (trapped) child in case of an accident. Say the car crashes and is in danger of burning but noone thinks to check the back seat...

That is what this is for.....W.H.A.L.E. Child Car Seat Identification Kit

Watch the video (link located right under the pic of the woman), it was done by our local news station but the program is recognized nationally. The video tells you all about the program and it's benefits. If you are lucky your local police or sheriff's office give the kits away for free. The local police department just mailed them to me, no charge even for shipping. I have them on all my seats.

O' and I think that the "Baby on Board" signs are silly, lol.

silly poll... baby on board sign?

Do you/would you use a "Baby on Board" sign?

Yes, seems like a good safety idea to me

No, I don't want people to know baby's riding with me

Can't make up my mind on this very important topic

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