Oh Baby !!

Whenever I see a car with a ‘Baby on Board’ sign hanging in the back window I wonder what reaction the driver expects from other roads users. Does the driver feel a sense of protection from displaying this small yellow diamond and declaring to all the dangerous and irresponsible drivers out on the road that this vehicle is now safe and immune to anything which may run into it?

Does the driver remove the sign when no baby is present? If not, how are we to know if there is baby in transit?.

But I still fail to see the reasoning for the display. Long vehicles signs show us that the vehicle in front is probably longer than normal so we should take extra care when we attempt to pass it. Hazardous waste signs show us that potentially dangerous cargo is close to us and we are warned of that. A school bus we naturally treat with courtesy, as small children are unpredictable in their thoughts and movements. But babies are not renowned for their running into the road antics; more for their laying down, eating, sleeping and other things I won’t go into here (but which they seem to do in equal shares).

Is it a boast to other people to advise that the driver has children and can still afford to buy a car; and a sign, of course? Or might it be that they are proud parents and there is, possibly, a much deeper story behind that reasoning? Perhaps they have tried for years for a family and have now been blessed, so want to shout it from the rooftops. Could this be a form of advertising maybe?

I love children and would never wish them harm but I don’t think that my driving, cycling or walking habits are at all affected by the fact that the car in front may or may not be carrying a baby.

What it does tell me is that some very smart person invented a sign which caught the public attention and should have made that smart person an awful lot of money.

I think I am pretty sad that I wasn’t that very smart person.