# Car window stickers



## Spinney (16 Nov 2015)

I'm still being annoyed by seeing those yellow 'cyclists stay back' stickers on all sorts of vehicles. Mr Spinney said there were some 'cyclists stay awesome' stickers available, but I can only find links to road.cc that seem to be at least a year old.

But it got me thinking - maybe the back window of a car isn't a bad place to convey a few simple cycling safety messages to other drivers. I was thinking of something like 'a metre matters' type of thing, with a simple graphic. 

So @Shaun - if there is enough interest, would it be possible for the CycleChat shop to sell such things?

And what would be the most effective message(s) to convey.

Personally I'd rather have a strip to put along the bottom of the back window rather than having things stuck to the paintwork.

Any ideas/thoughts?


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## byegad (16 Nov 2015)

Sounds like a great idea, I'd buy one for my car and another for my wife's car.


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## martint235 (16 Nov 2015)

I find the "Baby On Board" signs useful. It lets me know from quite a distance that the driving is going to be shockingly bad bordering on the homicidal. I'm sure the baby could drive better if it could reach the pedals.


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## mjr (16 Nov 2015)

Staying alive at 1.5. Not only a metre please.


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## Asa Post (16 Nov 2015)

martint235 said:


> I find the "Baby On Board" signs useful. It lets me know from quite a distance that the driving is going to be shockingly bad bordering on the homicidal. I'm sure the baby could drive better if it could reach the pedals.


No, no, no.

You're making a very common mistake. The fact is that the sign is not written in English but in Tishlub, a language that looks very similar.

BABY is a verb. The basis is BAB, which means “to be”. Tishlub is like Latin, so the verb is modified by different endings. The addition of a “Y” indicates that this is first person singular – I AM.

There are no single letter words in Tishlub, so ON is one of the smallest words in the language, and means the same as one of English's smallest words – the indefinite article - A.

BOARD is a noun. It is rather disreputable, as it is a slang term for …... (erm)....... a lady's naughty bits.

So what you think says “BABY ON BOARD” actually says

I AM A TW*T


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## sidevalve (16 Nov 2015)

Asa Post said:


> No, no, no.
> 
> You're making a very common mistake. The fact is that the sign is not written in English but in Tishlub, a language that looks very similar.
> 
> ...


That must have taken a while - Get out more


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## classic33 (16 Nov 2015)

Two that I have seen.


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## Hardrock93 (16 Nov 2015)

sidevalve said:


> That must have taken a while - Get out more


I remember someone suggested that 'Baby on Board' was not a warning to other drivers, but a reminder to the parent when closing the garage door.


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## classic33 (16 Nov 2015)

[QUOTE 4008117, member: 45"]The Give Cyclists Room sticker was done by someone on here many years ago.

If someone else wants to pick up the idea and get some printed I'm sure Shaun would be more than happy.[/QUOTE]
Padbeat, of the Silent Service. Done on C+.


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## youngoldbloke (16 Nov 2015)

Spinney said:


> I'm still being annoyed by seeing those yellow 'cyclists stay back' stickers on all sorts of vehicles. Mr Spinney said there were some 'cyclists stay awesome' stickers available, *but I can only find links to road.cc that seem to be at least a year old.*


Try http://shop.road.cc/
Various 'Awesome' products


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## Spinney (16 Nov 2015)

youngoldbloke said:


> Try http://shop.road.cc/
> Various 'Awesome' products


Thanks for that. Sadly the sticker I want is sold out!


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## Pat "5mph" (16 Nov 2015)

I don't have a car, could I stick an enormous "please don't squash me!" on my panniers?


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## Mo1959 (16 Nov 2015)

Pat "5mph" said:


> I don't have a car, could I stick an enormous "please don't squash me!" on my panniers?


Can't find one, unless you want to be a hedgehog


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## Pat "5mph" (16 Nov 2015)

Mo1959 said:


> Can't find one, unless you want to be a hedgehog
> View attachment 110134


I'd rather have a cat picture


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## Drago (16 Nov 2015)

I got about half a dozen small "stay awesome" one's I never used. Can't even remember where I got them from. Had a big one on my old pick up.


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## Monsieur (16 Nov 2015)

Got this in my car


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## marknotgeorge (16 Nov 2015)

I've got one of the 'Stay Awesome' stickers on the back of Fungus the Clio. I keep meaning to move it, as I think the rear wiper obscures it.


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## Shaun (23 Nov 2015)

Unfortunately we cannot add non-Spreadshirt products to the current shop so any stickers would have to be designed, sourced, produced and distributed as a community project.

Cheers,
Shaun


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## steveindenmark (24 Nov 2015)

I cant really see how someone could get upset for someone having a sticker on a car.

If anyone gets stickers made up, they need to be flourescent to be seen in the dark. Very few people read them so they may as well be of some use.


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## steveindenmark (24 Nov 2015)

User said:


> If you mean the "cyclists stay back" ones, it is because some people object to being addressed like children.



They are obviously more touchy than me then.


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## Spinney (24 Nov 2015)

User said:


> If you mean the "cyclists stay back" ones, it is because some people object to being addressed like children.


I think it's also the possibility of attempting to shift blame - "My sticker told them to stay back and they didn't, so it's their fault I hit them..."


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## jefmcg (24 Nov 2015)

User said:


> If you mean the "cyclists stay back" ones, it is because some people object to being addressed like children.


Sounds more like a threat to me.


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## blazed (24 Nov 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> I cant really see how someone could get upset for someone having a sticker on a car.
> 
> If anyone gets stickers made up, they need to be flourescent to be seen in the dark. Very few people read them so they may as well be of some use.



Cyclists are a minority and as such many have a massive chip on their shoulders. 

"cyclists stay back" is obviously meant as a safety warning, only really ever seen on large vehicles.


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## jefmcg (24 Nov 2015)

blazed said:


> Cyclists are a minority and as such many have a massive chip on their shoulders.
> 
> "cyclists stay back" is obviously meant as a safety warning, only really ever seen on large vehicles.


A quick google finds a few eg





Also turned up this beauty - wouldn't it be easy to fix the bulb?


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## Drago (24 Nov 2015)

Alas, a lot of cyclists are so oblivious to their own safety that they need such warnings. Unfortunately, this Darwin Awards candidates aren't the sort to bother reading warning notices.

I'm not offended by such signs. If cyclists weren't dumb enough to do it, the industry wouldnt waste the time, effort and money slapping such stickers on their vehicles.


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## Shaun (24 Nov 2015)

Well to bring it _back_ onto the topic of CC stickers - what wording would you suggest?


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## mjr (24 Nov 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> I cant really see how someone could get upset for someone having a sticker on a car.


Because they're usually completely bogus instructions: telling us not to overtake at all (even on the right), blame-shifting (translation: "my vehicle is unsafe or my driving is substandard and I'm not going to fix it until forced") and generally contributing to the myth that there are hordes of cyclists overtaking on the left in the same lane and getting run down rather than motorists doing dangerous last-gasp overtakes on the entrances to junctions.



steveindenmark said:


> If anyone gets stickers made up, they need to be flourescent to be seen in the dark. Very few people read them so they may as well be of some use.


Fluorescence doesn't work in the dark. Maybe you mean reflective or luminous?


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## mjr (24 Nov 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> You read all that into one little sticker in a car window? If I thought like that when Im out riding Id scrap all my bikes. Its only a sticker.


Oh I'm lucky. I don't have to ride near nobbers with those stickers much. They're a symptom of how some motorists have completely the wrong attitude about sharing the roads. I think it should be a fine and penalty points for displaying a sign that contradicts the Highway Code on a vehicle.


steveindenmark said:


> Ive got "Think Bike" on the back of my car. What do you make of that one?


It just reminds me of a nobber with one of those stickers who repeatedly parks on the cycle track a few miles north of here. Fairly large drives on those houses and space on all of them, but no, that one parks obstructing the cycle track. Not seen them recently, though. Maybe a passing bike scratched it


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## Shaun (24 Nov 2015)

**COUGH**



Shaun said:


> Well to bring it _back_ onto the topic of CC stickers - what wording would you suggest?



Suggestions?


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## Drago (24 Nov 2015)

How about one for the NS of lorries - "If you can read this, you're in grave danger."


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## deptfordmarmoset (24 Nov 2015)

Shaun said:


> **COUGH**
> 
> 
> 
> Suggestions?


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## deptfordmarmoset (25 Nov 2015)

Oh, and here's a blank one for other ideas....


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## Spinney (25 Nov 2015)

User said:


> Why not just a blank overlay to cover the "stay back"?


Because my original suggestion was for a sticker for _me_ to put on my car, to show that some car drivers are also cyclists.
But I had in mind something more like the thing below, but wider and not as tall, so it could go inside the back of my rear window (it's an estate car) without obscuring my view through the rear too much. Just for the education of any drivers behind me...


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## deptfordmarmoset (25 Nov 2015)

User said:


> Why not just a blank overlay to cover the "stay back"?


I'm not sure what you mean, Adrian. Do you mean an overlay to stick to the back of offending construction vehicles? My idea was to subvert a recognisable image, much like the ''Stay Awesome'' one, but I'm not sticking the word awesome on the back of any vehicle I might drive.


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## steveindenmark (25 Nov 2015)

Spinney said:


> Because my original suggestion was for a sticker for _me_ to put on my car, to show that some car drivers are also cyclists.
> But I had in mind something more like the thing below, but wider and not as tall, so it could go inside the back of my rear window (it's an estate car) without obscuring my view through the rear too much. Just for the education of any drivers behind me...
> View attachment 110972



But dont we go back to the original post, where the op was annoyed because there was a sticker on a car trying to instruct him to do something?

It seems we are trying to perpetuate the same idea. But batting it back at motorists.

I think it needs to be pictorial and a statement but not an instruction. Educational but not instructual.

"Cycle paths are NOT compulsory"


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## deptfordmarmoset (25 Nov 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> But dont we go back to the original post, where the op was annoyed because there was a sticker on a car trying to instruct him to do something?
> 
> It seems we are trying to perpetuate the same idea. But batting it back at motorists.
> 
> I think it needs to be pictorial and a statement but not an instruction.


I thought the OP was more unhappy about shifting responsibility onto cyclists to protect themselves from the danger presented by the vehicle sporting the sticker. The 1.5 metre sticker is about not endangering cyclists.


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## Spinney (25 Nov 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> But dont we go back to the original post, where the op was annoyed because there was a sticker on a car trying to instruct him to do something?
> 
> It seems we are trying to perpetuate the same idea. But batting it back at motorists.
> 
> ...



I _am_ the OP (AICMFP!)


Yes, I was annoyed, but if you read the 2nd para I'd gone on to the idea of information...
Agree with deptfordmarmoset - my idea is not about shifting blame but perhaps getting other drivers to think about how they pass cyclists.


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## steveindenmark (25 Nov 2015)

You can discuss the "Stay back" sticker all day though. To me its a polite request to help to keep you safe. To others on here its a blatant breach of your civil liberties.

I think a sticker with the slightest instructional tone can have the other team throwing the teddy out of the pram.

The 1.5m sticker, although perfectly innocent, could now be construed as shifting all the responsibility to the motorists. There are occasions where they cant give cyclists 1.5m. Some driver/cyclists have no idea what 1.5 m looks like. I am of course playing the devils advocate here.

I see what you are saying Spinney. But it appears that if a motorist instructs some cyclists on this site about anything at all, it is like a red rag to a bull. I can imagine it is the same the other way round.


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## Spinney (25 Nov 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> You can discuss the "Stay back" sticker all day though. To me its a polite request to help to keep you safe. To others on here its a blatant breach of your civil liberties.
> 
> I think a sticker with the slightest instructional tone can have the other team throwing the teddy out of the pram.
> 
> The 1.5m sticker, although perfectly innocent, could now be construed as shifting all the responsibility to the motorists. There are occasions where they cant give cyclists 1.5m. Some driver/cyclists have no idea what 1.5 m looks like. I am of course playing the devils advocate here.



When overtaking, the responsibility _IS _the motorists'...

Then they shouldn't be overtaking...

simples


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## steveindenmark (25 Nov 2015)

Spinney said:


> When overtaking, the responsibility _IS _the motorists'...
> 
> Then they shouldn't be overtaking...
> 
> simples



I didnt say it wasn't. I said they cannot always give 1.5m clearance. There are peletons on my country roads who refuse to move over, even when riding 3 abreast. If I had to wait to give them 1.5 metres, it would take me miles to get past them. Now there are those on here who will say I should wait and wait and wait to get by. Im a cyclist and I think that is unreasonable. We should all share the road but some riders like to hug it.


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## Spinney (25 Nov 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> I didnt say it wasn't. I said they cannot always give 1.5m clearance. There are peletons on my country roads who refuse to move over, even when riding 3 abreast. If I had to wait to give them 1.5 metres, it would take me miles to get past them. Now there are those on here who will say I should wait and wait and wait to get by. Im a cyclist and I think that is unreasonable. We should all share the road but some riders like to hug it.


OK, point taken.
And if we're all moving very slowly, there isn't usually a problem with being overtaken closer than the 1.5 m.


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## Drago (25 Nov 2015)

The way I see it such stickers are aimed at chumps, not cyclists or motorists.

The chump gene doesn't discriminate when it comes to one's choice of transport.


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## mjr (25 Nov 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> Now there are those on here who will say I should wait and wait and wait to get by. Im a cyclist and I think that is unreasonable. We should all share the road but some riders like to hug it.


While I don't like riding 3-up, as a motorist, I think it's quite reasonable to wait if you can't pass with sufficient space. If you don't like it, get off the f**king road. You should be on the motorway.  The idea of using the motorway/primary network except for the ends of the journey seems to be going out of fashion: sat navs seem to mean every country lane is now a flaming potential rat run, instead of mainly used by nearby residents, farm/quarry traffic and non-motorised users like they used to be.

I like the pass wide at 1.5m idea. Don't park on cycle tracks is another I'd like, which would be a worthwhile modification for many of the nobbers with the cyclists-must-not-overtake stickers around here. It's not really about civil liberties but it feels like most of the commercial vehicles that block cyclists, pass close and generally drive badly near cyclists have those stickers on. They're almost useful warnings, but not in the evil way intended.


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## jefmcg (25 Nov 2015)

I'm a metric girl from way back, but seeing as the UK uses yards and miles on the road, if we have a sticker like this




shouldn't it say *1.6/1.7 yards * or better still *5 feet*?


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## mjr (25 Nov 2015)

jefmcg said:


> shouldn't it say *1.6/1.7 yards * or better still *5 feet*?


Either 1.5m or 5ft is good. I grew up with metric so I prefer metres for small distances, but I don't really mind.


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## classic33 (26 Nov 2015)

Stayin alive at 1.5 stickers are already on the market.
Give Cyclists Room would just require printing.


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## Mrs M (26 Nov 2015)

I quite liked "wee guy on board". 
Mr M is only 5'2".


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## Drago (26 Nov 2015)

How about "Hulk Hogan says give cyclists 5 feet", accompanied with a picture of the great man scowling? Every motorist would be petrified and would instantly comply in fear of a good ass whupping.


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## deptfordmarmoset (26 Nov 2015)

Drago said:


> How about "Hulk Hogan says give cyclists 5 feet", accompanied with a picture of the great man scowling? Every motorist would be petrified and would instantly comply in fear of a good ass whupping.


I'm a fly on a bike so I need 6 feet


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## Dommo (2 Dec 2015)

How about some stickers almost identical to the originals on trucks which when placed over the original might not be noticed... with slogans such as:

"Cyclists stay back. I'm probably reading my mobile"
"Cyclists stay back. I've been banned, but what do I care?"
"Cyclists stay back. My gravel delivery is more important than your worthless life"

That sort of thing.


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## classic33 (3 Dec 2015)

Drago said:


> The way I see it such stickers are aimed at chumps, not cyclists or motorists.
> 
> The chump gene doesn't discriminate when it comes to one's choice of transport.


See Stayinaliveat1.5, the person behind it has managed to get County Councils displaying the larger stickers/vinyl prints on their vehicles.


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