What do y’all think about Baby on Board signs on cars? I have two sides to this.
People may be more considerate when driving around my wife and I when we drive. If I’m doing something like driving around a parking lot to keep the baby asleep while my wife is in a store, people will possibly be understanding. On the other hand, people’s driving shouldn’t change just because we have a baby, they should drive respectfully all the time…
I don’t want bad people thinking we would be an easy target when coming back to our vehicles. I think this is a low probability event, but I feel the sign may increase the probability of a bad event (mugging kid napping).
My personal opinion… #1. People do not care about your sign, and are certainly not going to behave any other way than they normally do based on it.
#2. Perhaps, depending on where you are and who may be planning nefarious activities. Such as large parking lots with lots of moving vehicles, or shopping malls, particularly during heavy shopping times.
While I dislike those signs and the family sizes ones (except for the funny ones like the ones below…), I do not think any differently about the people who have them. I suspect that others couldn’t care less either.
Personally, I have been considering removing the stickers from my back window to get the info about me out of public view. It’s enough that I have atate issued disabled Veteran plates, but I am not sure I want ppl to know I’m retired Air Force, a Gulf War vet, or a member of (sorry), multiple gun organizations.
As for the family sticker stuff, I def don’t think that’s a good idea. Like the ones with “Cheerleader” above a pic of a pom-pom, and the kid’s name at the bottom. That’s wayyyy too much info to have there. Folks who do that should binge Law & Order SVU, paying close attention to crimes against children episodes. To me stickers like that are saying, “Hey, predators, I have just what you’re after…” and I sure as heck wouldn’t want such in my driveway to advertise the name of my cheerleading daughter there for some jerkwad pedophile to know so he could use her name in approaching her.
Heck, I’ve stopped wearing graphic tees with all sorts of different things on them just to blend better…for that matter, I don’t wear just a tee very often at all nowadays. Darker color polos and short sleeve Proppertype shirts I think are better for urban camoflauge. I simply do not wish to stand out in any way, so…
Now kiddies, that’s it for this one little lecture. Be good.
Adios.
Blessings,
~S
<EDIT ADDED AFTER POST HERE —>>>>>
After posting, I immediately went to my vehicle and removed my GOA, and sorry, USCCA stickers. I don’t want to provide intel about myself to others so easily. The USAF and Desert Storm stickers stay, cause well, all that says is “Badass” - such intel is free of charge and gladly conveyed
No stickers ever. Not one in my entire life on my car. You don’t need to know child is an honor roll student, just tells you I got kids. No need for Calvin pee’ing on some car brand.
I have one thing special about my car and that’s a “Have your pet spayed or neutered” tag. I Gray Man the heck out of my car. Well as much as you can a black convertible 2 seater.
The only time I see “baby on board” signs is when a car passes me with a woman behind the wheel driving like a Tasmanian devil at 25mph over the speed limit.
One benefit for you now is you have better situational awareness.
You might even be looking out for a grandparent whose car has those grandkids honor student bumper stickers.
I always thought it was more for emergency vehicles if there was an accident to be more cautious as there may be an infant involved. I agree though that people should drive courteously regardless of a sign on your car or not. Unfortunately some people need to be reminded to be that way though.
I do think that those family stickers give way to much information to people who may be looking for a target though. For instance, if you have one of those family stick figure things on the back can tell someone how many people are in your house. If you have a “My son/daughter is a School Name Honor student” can tell them where to look for your kids. If you have military stickers on the car it may show them that your husband or wife is deployed and you’re home alone. The Baby on board sign can show you’re more likely to be paying more attention to a child than all of your surroundings. These are just things I’ve thought of in regards to putting stickers on my car and have heard over the years.
All that being said, if a person wants to do bad things, no sticker is going to stop them.
I would think you could summarize this by saying that you want to be the “Gray Man” as much as possible, and the best way to do it is to include your car along with clothing, the way you move or walk, and present yourself in public.
Until I get behind a car littered in bumper stickers, usually conflicting messages about people the driver hates with an occasional “coexist” sticker for good measure. When I see cars like that, I try to pass quickly before I inhale some second-hand smoke of undetermined origin.
This makes sense! I didn’t think of that.
I still think I’m going to avoid them.
I agree with everyone on the family stickers… especially the ones with all of the names under each stick figure… I have one sticker on my truck and it says “I love labs”. I’d love to put a “Back the blue” sticker… I thought that could have made some people mad a few months ago… now that’s really asking for your truck to be keyed.
I am a no identifying marks kind of guy. No stickers of any kind, nothing but a license plate, and that you cant do anything about. I even take off the dealer stickers. I dont want anything that can make me a mark, or a description that can be given.
Describe the vehicle you saw: Red Ford F250
Did you get the plate?: No
Did you see any stickers?: No
Any identifying dents, rust, anything?: No
Any stickers?: No
Any accessories?: No
Anything that would help us identify the specific vehicle?: No
I am law-abiding and have no tickets. But I have my two young boys with me unless I am at work. So, if something happens in this day and age, I want to be able to get away and disapear. Its not just the cops. Look at the thread or two on this forum on what to do if a mob attacks your car, I want to disappear. I dont want them to be able to text or call to their friends 2 miles up the road.
Great question Scoutbob. I’m not a fan of any stickers or signs on my vehicles. The less people know about me, the better. Especially in our dichotomous world. I’m also not convinced they change anyone’s mind or behaviors.
Not to mention being on the phone and trying to give the baby a bottle at the same time. I’m always thinking to myself - “You have a baby on board and you’re driving like that?”
These signs came into being in the 70s when there were a couple of instances where children were left in wrecked cars by EMS. That’s as best I remember it, anyway. It might have had the additional benefit of encouraging people to drive more carefully, but I have a hard time believing that it had any effect.
My first impression when I come upon a car with a “Baby on Board” sign is that the driver is saying “… I intend to drive stupidly and not pay attention. You have to yield to me so I can be reckless and do things that endanger you”.
That’s probably an overreaction, but the “BOB” signs seem to be used as a license to ‘own the road’ by the cars that have them.
“Baby On Board” signs were originally used for emergency personnel to know there is a baby on board in the case of an accident. Check out some of these funny baby on board signs at this site called Baby On Board Store.
