Baby on Board

[Vics]

Apologies if this has been asked before but why do people have these kind of notices in their cars!!?? Are people really going to drive slower behind them, skid onto the pavement killing old people just to avoid the baby or think god I can't possibly reverse into that car they have a baby on board? I just do not see what purpose they serve. Am I the only one who thinks like this? If it's to avoid cars ploughing into them a big neon sign saying nuclear misile on board would be just a touch more effective I feel !

[Toureman]

Hi VICS,

This inane fashion started in Germany.

The start of this was caused by something like the explanation below

There was an accident where the parent/driver was rendered unconcious, a baby was also in the car but was not discovered in the car until later.

The companies who make car accesorys saw the gap in the market and started making the signs which at the time was not a bad idea.

It has now become the in thing to have in your car whether a baby is in the car or not, if there is no baby in the car and the sign is showing you could be putting at risk the lives of other motorists, the police and firemen who would try to rescue a non existant baby if your car caught fire!

If people knew this and still have the signs in their car when there is no baby in the car they are morons!

[casaespana]

I agree. Same as "horses in transit".

[Minxie]

Hi Vics, I find those notices highly annoying, especially when they say "Special little person on board" doesnt matter who is in the car in front. You drive with care anyway.

p.s. I got my 74 year old ex mother in law (who I get on great with) a car set which has a sticker saying "babe on board" . Yes I am sad :)

[andy-hughes]

It's an example of a situation where a tenuous genuine reason for something has turned into a 'humourous' accesssory. i saw a car yesterday with the ubiquitous 'BOB' sticker, and another saying 'Husband In Boot' Oh how I laughed, I had to hold my sides in case they split!!!

The chances of a baby being missed in a crash vehicle are probably thousands to one, and as suggested, more than negated by police and rescue workers checking for a baby who is actually at home with Dad zedding away in his cot!

Hopefully these labels will go the way of furry dice - only to re-surface in an 'ironic' way around 2036!

[valsuey]

I followed a car yesterday with "Mother to be on Board",I cannot see the point of these stupid signs.Apart from making the manufacturers richer I suppose.

andy-hughes - Had to laff at the Husband in Boot!

[OBonio]

We've got one.... I told my wife I didn't want one, but she bought one anyway.

I agree, they patronise other drivers. But then again, you need to treat everyone else on the road as if they are utter morons. And there are a lot of them out there!

[morg_monster]

I saw one which said 'Cheese and Pickle Sandwich On Board" - brilliant.

[milly143]

Another arguement I heard against these was that if you have an accident and you have one of these baby on board things in your window, a fire crew could waste time looking for a child that may not have been in in the car anyway. They are fairly pointless in my opinion.

[Vics]

Thanks Toureman for the explanation of the origin of these horrendous signs - I didn't actually know that. All the other answers are great - I'm very glad I'm not the only one who detests them!! OBonio - glad to know that a parent with one doesn't even like it!! (Although I think on issues like these - for the sake of your street cred you cannot let your wife win!!)

So here's the plan if you're all up for it - to add a little spice into our fantastic lives -over the next 36 hours we will see who can spot the funniest sign in a car (it'll be hard to beat Andy's Husband in Boot and Morgs Cheese and Pickle sandwich on Board).

Rules: it must actually have been seen and not made up!!

No crashing into cars in order to read them.

Lets say deadline is 11pm on Wednesday.

Get going gang. (Ed - I hope this bit of fun is allowed)

XXX

[breddan]

These annoying and (to me) pointless signs go back a long way.
In 1975 I bought a German made car-babyseat which came complete with a window sticker that said 'kind an bord'.
These stickers have spawned many imitations: some quite amusing as has been pointed out in the previous answers.

I recently saw one that said 'little person on board' and assumed that it was just a variation of the 'child on board' message until I drew alongside the other vehicle.
Behind the steering wheel was a bald-headed tiny old man looking through the steering wheel.
Someone has a sense of humour.

[kick3m0n]

My partner and I never even considered getting one when our wee guy arrived, as we agree with the sentiments expressed here. I guess maybe some people like to advertise their fertility! ;-D

[gedk]

I'm a mother and I have one in my car and I really can't see the problem with them. I have mine displayed in the vain hope that it will deter other t0sspot road users from trying to climb into the boot of my car and remain a safe distance behind.

There are far more important things to worry about people!!

[David H]

It's a perfect example of a phenomenon with a specific meaning being perverted by folk etymology, ie total rollocks with a b.

The fact this one was driven by cynical marketing rather than public ignorance shows how easy it can be to exploit the general public, but hopefully only until they start to discover the truth.

I felt like getting a notice 'driver on board' as using their logic, technically we are all of equal value, young or old.

Next I'd like one 'public toilet on board'. That would get people thinking...

[crgb14]

I am actually Tony Blair and as of 1st February 2006 all shops will be banned from 'Baby on Board' signs.

I hope that this does enough to keep me in power for the next 200 years. Oh the joys.

Perhaps we should implement new ones for BMW and van drivers like "No caption needed" or "be warned as I do have tendancies to manouvre without prior warning"

[thikasabrik]

I think that people display a BOB notice in their car to prove to the world that they have had sex on at least one occasion. I think the signs are pathetic and twee and should be banned. I know a couple who have one in their car simply so they can park in the parent & child bays at the supermarket.(They don't have any kids). I can feel my blood pressure rising as I type. So endeth tonights rant.

[milly143]

Now, that's a whole other debate that could kick off quite nicely - people who park in those spaces for no reason. It drives me mental and I don't even have children. If I have my baby neice in the car I park in those spaces and what annoys me more then anything is people who do have kids and park in those spaces but the driver stays in the car with the kids. Gggrrrrr!!!!

[crgb14]

I actually posted a question about people parking in disabled spaces the other week. you should check it out in motoring