Suggestion for new parents

From time to time people asking what should they do regarding their vehicle with a baby on the way. Here is my suggestion: do not put a “baby on board” sticker on the back of your car.
Stick it to your dash so you can see it all the time. It is your baby you should drive accordingly. For example use your turn signal when appropriate, use your lights when it is dark or raining, check your blind spots before you change lanes etc. It is your baby, you should drive like you care about him or her.

Earlier a big SUV was barreling down the highway behind me, changing lanes without signaling and almost drove across the hood of my car to get to the exit for the mall. I patiently followed her because i had to do some shopping as well. As luck have it i have found a parking spot near her car. As soon as I left my car this mother with a raised voice told me that i must be blind and not seen the baby on board sticker in her back window otherwise i would not have honked my horn next to her precious… When I calmly explained what the function of a headlight and the turn signal is she got angrier. I just shook my head and told her that if she will continue drive the way she does she will hit somebody or she will get hit by somebody soon. I told her to put the sticker on the dash and walked away…

Somehow they survive and somehow their offspring survive. That idiot’s grandson may discover the cure for cancer. If so, luckily for the world you were paying attention. There isn’t much else we can do, 6 bits.Thank you.

I remember being passed by a ratty old pickup with a toddler standing up in the seat and a baby on board sign swinging in the back window.

One of my few pet peeves is people who think their children need constant monitoring. Babies don’t float out the window while you’re watching the road.

When did “baby on board” signs start coming back? They were all the rage back in the early 1990s, but they went away for a while. Now I am seeing them again. Who brought back this terrible trend?

“Baby on Board” stickers should be banned. No one always drives with the baby in the car. The reason for it is to alert emergency responders to continue risking their lives to pull a baby from the wreckage. If the baby is not there, why risk the ER’s lives unnecessarily? The little plaques that hand in a side window are acceptable, though. Just so long a the parents use them appropriately.

Those BoB signs became warnings that the driver was preoccupied and felt entitled to ignore common traffic etiquette. They were for the protection of other motorists. And I still believe that some sign should be required on an automobile to identify the category of driver at the wheel. Knowing that the driver in the next lane or ahead of you has 3 DUI arrests or has 20/400 vision or is 16 and the ink isn’t dry on his license or has road rage issues might be beneficial in safely getting to your destination.

I’m glad to know (finally!) that those signs were intended for first-responders, rather than for other drivers.
When those signs were really popular, every time that I saw one, I would ask myself…What am I supposed to do differently because someone else has a baby in his/her car?

Since I don’t tailgate other vehicles, and since I am not someone with homicidal intent, what could I possibly do differently as a result of those signs? Should I think of it like the signs on the back of fire engines that say…Stay back 300 feet…?

Just as I did not know the original intent of those signs, I am willing to bet that the vast majority of people who use them also do not know the real purpose of the signs. I DO think that they are trying to transfer the responsibility for their child’s safety to others, rather than making themselves the person who is responsible for ensuring the child’s safety.

Nah, they may have been thought of for first responders, but I guarantee that 99.99% of them were bought by folks wanting US to be careful around THEM. Just another example of the ‘me first, I’m more important’ theme you see everywhere.

I thought “baby on board” signs were just gifts you gave at a baby shower.

As for advice to new parents. Remember that your baby will grow up and have 16 to 17 years observing how you drive. When your “baby” gets his or her driver’s license if you drive fast, lane hop, jam on the brakes, and have multiple accidents and traffic tickets guess what kind of driver baby will be? What goes around comes around.

Whenever a product is released, there is a reason behind it. But people will come up with their own reasons, and they may be far different than the original intent.

I along the lines of that BoB sign we all hate, I do like those “Drive Like Your Kids Live Here” lawn signs.
Not sure if it helps, but the thought behind it is good.

“Why don’t they post an honest sign ‘idiot at the wheel’…”
“I have one of those diamond shaped stickers in my rear window that says ‘Armed pitbull with AIDS on board’. I’ll tell you even the jackoffs are leaving me alone.”

/George Carlin