London - They’re supposed to encourage other drivers to back off, but “Baby on Board” and similar signs have been blamed for almost two million accidents.
One in 20 motorists says the signs, which are displayed in a car’s rear window, caused them to have a collision – the equivalent of 1.85 million of Britain’s 37 million drivers.
Experts believe they can obscure a driver’s rear view, which could lead to a prang when they change lanes, and that motorists following their car could be distracted by the brightly coloured signs.
The accident figures, which also apply to children’s toys on the rear parcel shelf, triggered a warning by road safety charity Brake to cut down on car clutter.
Deputy chief executive Julie Townsend said the signs could be useful in alerting the emergency services that a child may be involved in the event of a crash.
But she added: “This help can become a hindrance if drivers display signs when their child isn’t in the vehicle.
‘”Worse still is the danger that can be posed by drivers obscuring their view by cluttering up windows with lots of signs.”
The risk was highlighted in a survey of 2,000 drivers for price comparison website Confused.com, which found 37 percent of parents have used the signs.
But 46 percent admitted to using them even when their child was not in the car. - Daily Mail