did i miss something?

October 12, 2006 6:04 PM

what are these circular stickers i see on everyone's cars that show a blue hat and eyeballs underneath (which, when seen from afar, resembles a car k-car profile with the eyes as wheels)?

they're everywhere around here (US), and i suspect they're associated with a band or something, but my google-fu isn't working with the image search on this one. at one point i thought they were some sort of obscure parking sticker, but now i suspect it's something larger. what gives?

posted by garfy3 to Society & Culture (11 answers total)

I tried 'blue hat sticker' at Google Images and found a site where someone else had asked, and this was the answer (note - I don't know for sure if this is the right answer):

"Hi there! Thanks for popping by my blog! I actually have a answer to your sticker question.

It is a sticker that means, if you are a policeman and you see this car after midnight, please stop it and see who is driving. I was so curious about the sticker that I had to find out about it. Someone who works in my building had one and I asked. It’s commonly used by parents of new drivers to make sure they do not violate their provisional drivers lisence (no driving after midnight)."
posted by iconomy at 6:12 PM on October 12, 2006

Response by poster: thanks iconomy, that picture is exactly the thing i'm curious about. not sure i buy the answer given on that blog, though...
posted by garfy3 at 6:25 PM on October 12, 2006

Best answer: Here's the answer, which means the blogger above was just about right. Interesting! I'm going to be on the lookout for one now - I've never seen one in PA.
posted by iconomy at 6:40 PM on October 12, 2006

We have a similar thing in New Zealand with a small triangular yellow sticker that just has the number 25 on it. It means the car is never driven by anyone under the age of 25, so if it's spotted being driven by someone younger, it's probably suspicious.
posted by tracicle at 6:49 PM on October 12, 2006

In Japan cars driven by student drivers are required to display a decal shaped like a chevron in the back window. One side of the chevron is yellow, and one side is bright green.
posted by bunky at 7:08 PM on October 12, 2006

Maybe I'm out in left field but it seems to me if a 16-year old is ballsy enough to sneak the car out at night, they're darn sure going to have some idea of what the sticker is for and put something temporary over it with a dab of chewing gum or rubber cement.
posted by zek at 8:08 PM on October 12, 2006

Imagine how ironic this would be if it ever backfired.
posted by |n$eCur3 at 8:42 PM on October 12, 2006

Thanks for asking this. I've always wondered...
posted by grateful at 6:37 AM on October 13, 2006

Never noticed one before, on either coast. Where are these stickers being spotted?
posted by Rash at 8:16 AM on October 13, 2006

Imagine how ironic this would be if it ever backfired.

Heh.
posted by scrump at 8:35 AM on October 13, 2006

Response by poster: i see them mostly around the washington d.c. area...which is weird since the crime-prevention program linked above is in arizona. maybe these things have crossed the whole country?
posted by garfy3 at 1:39 PM on October 13, 2006