Alarming research has revealed that hanging a ‘Baby on Board’ sign on the window of your car is likely to obscure your view and cause an accident.
According to The Daily Mail, one in 20 motorists say that the signs are to blame for collisions and nearly two million drivers who have had accidents in the UK have sited their playtime paraphernalia as the cause.
The main purpose of the signs is to alert emergency services to the presence of a baby in the case of an accident but Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of the charity Brake said parents should not display the signs when their child is not in the car, which could help cut down on accidents.
“This help can become a hindrance if drivers display signs when their child isn’t in the vehicle,’ she said.
“Worse still is the danger that can be posed by drivers obscuring their view by cluttering up windows with lots of signs.
Baby on Board signs can obscure your view and cause collisions
“Drivers’ priority should always be getting there safely without putting themselves, young passengers or other road users at risk,” she said.
The research revealed that 37 per cent of parents display the signs in their car and four out of five believe that they improve their children’s safety.
However, 46 per cent admitted to displaying the sign at all times whether or not their baby was in the car but a shocking 15 per cent said they only display the sign for the novelty factor.
A spokesperson from insurance firm Confused.com said: “There are benefits and dangers to “Baby on Board” signs. They can offer useful information for paramedics in the case of a crash but having too many novelty items displayed could be a safety issue.”
Do you think your ‘Baby on Board’ is improving your safety?
