A ‘baby on board’ sign might seem like a good safety precaution if you have young passengers, but you should be careful that your attempt to improve your road safety does not lead to you committing other driving offences.

For instance, the Highway Code stresses that the windscreen must be clear of all obstructions, to ensure that the driver’s vision is not impaired by obstacles.

But ‘baby on board’ signs could equally impair vision through the side or rear windows, causing a problem when checking blind spots or on motorways.

This could easily lead to you committing driving offences due to another vehicle or pedestrian that you could not see because of your sign.

According to figures from Confused.com and the road safety charity Brake, this has actually happened to one in 20 motorists that they surveyed.

Nearly half of those surveyed – 46% of the respondents – think ‘baby on board’ signs cause obstructions to vision, while an even greater 51% think windscreens as a whole are too cluttered by stickers, satnav holders and other obstructions.

The organisations stress that, in particular, ‘baby on board’ signs should be removed when a baby is not on board, to avoid misleading the emergency services in the event of an accident.