gordon@cae780.UUCP (Brian Gordon) (06/11/85)
On the way home last night, on a local freeway cum parking lot, I counted
23 cars with yellow diamond-shaped signs in their rear windows proclaiming
"CHILD IN CAR". Although I might have missed one or two, I counted only two
cars with children in them. Apparently, it has become fashionable (?) to buy
the sign, install it and forget about it.
Assuming the purpose of the sign is to notify emergency crews to look for
a child in case of an accident, doesn't this now-common usage just about
destroy their value, since emergency workers will quickly learn that they
are usually meaningless? In fact, in the majority of cases, couldn't the
sign be of negative value, causing an emergency crew to waste time looking
for a non-existent victim?
If you have such a sign, are YOU using it reasonably?
FROM: Brian G. Gordon, CAE Systems
UUCP: {ihnp4, decvax!decwrl}!amd!cae780!gordon
{nsc, resonex, qubix, hplabs, leadsv, teklds}!cae780!gordon rib@cord.UUCP (RI Block) (06/16/85)
For much the same reason, our local fire department discourages the use of "totfinders". Although the time frame is much longer for a house than a car, people leave the signs in windows long after the tots have left.
sed408@ihlpg.UUCP (s. dugan) (06/16/85)
> On the way home last night, on a local freeway cum parking lot, I counted > 23 cars with yellow diamond-shaped signs in their rear windows proclaiming > "CHILD IN CAR". > > FROM: Brian G. Gordon, CAE Systems > UUCP: {ihnp4, decvax!decwrl}!amd!cae780!gordon > {nsc, resonex, qubix, hplabs, leadsv, teklds}!cae780!gordon Does anyone know where I can get one of these signs? -- Sarah E. Dugan "LET ME OUT OF HERE - I WANT TO GO HOME!" ########################################################################### # AT&T Bell Labs IH 1D-408 The Forest (home) # # Naperville-Wheaton Rd. 1353 Crab Apple Court Apt. 101 # # Naperville, Illinois 60566 Naperville, Illinois 60540 # # (312) 979 - 5545 (312) 355 - 0445 # ###########################################################################
smuga@mtuxo.UUCP (j.smuga) (06/17/85)
> For much the same reason, our local fire department > discourages the use of "totfinders". Although the time frame > is much longer for a house than a car, people leave the signs > in windows long after the tots have left. Have you ever tried to remove one of those totfinder stickers? I received them at the hospital when my kids were born. Once, when the kids shared a room for a while, I tried to take the sticker off the window in the unused room; no luck. A child uses that room again, so the sticker tells the truth, but I suppose I'll want to get rid of it someday, without replacing the pane of glass. How? -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I've had a great many troubles in my time, and most of them never happened. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos) (06/18/85)
> Have you ever tried to remove one of those totfinder stickers? ... I > suppose I'll want to get rid of it someday, without replacing the pane of > glass. How? Well... it would have helped if you had explained what the sticker was made of! Is it a transparent plastic sticker with a peel-off backing? If so, first scrape as much of the sticker off as you can; especially try to remove as much of the plastic as you can, leaving only adhesive. Then put acetone on the adhesive, and it will come right off. Acetone is available at most hardware stores; it is also the main ingredient in "nail polish remover," except that also contains oil. However, be very careful, as acetone is very volatile and flammable. It's also toxic. But it's good for removing stickers.... -- Shyy-Anzr: J. Eric Roskos UUCP: ..!{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!vax135!petsd!peora!jer US Mail: MS 795; Perkin-Elmer SDC; 2486 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32809-7642 "Fheryl qnloernxf pebff bhe cngu, naq fgnl, znlor, njuvyr..."
rap@oliven.UUCP (Robert A. Pease) (07/24/85)
I'm looking for those signs that people are putting in car windows
that say something about a "Child in car". Anyone that knows where I
can find them, please send me some E-mail. Thank you.
--
Robert A. Pease
{hplabs|zehntel|fortune|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!oliven!rapdwl10@amdahl.UUCP (Dave Lowrey) (07/26/85)
> I'm looking for those signs that people are putting in car windows > that say something about a "Child in car". Anyone that knows where I > can find them, please send me some E-mail. Thank you. > Why? People will continue to drive like assholes, with or without "Child in Car" signs. If you have an accident, are people more likely to rescue you when you have one of those signs? Yet another sign of Yuppidom! :-) -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Lowrey "To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question.... ....or is it?" ...!(<sun,cbosgd,ihnp4}!amdahl!dwl10 [ The opinions expressed <may> be those of the author and not necessarily those of his most eminent employer. ]
timr@hercules.UUCP (Tim Riordan) (07/26/85)
> I'm looking for those signs that people are putting in car windows > that say something about a "Child in car". Anyone that knows where I > can find them, please send me some E-mail. Thank you. > -- > > Robert A. Pease > {hplabs|zehntel|fortune|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!oliven!rap Why would anyone put such a sign in a car window? Which windows do they put them in? Which way do the signs face?
faunt@hplabs.UUCP (Doug Faunt) (07/29/85)
> > > Why? People will continue to drive like assholes, with or without > "Child in Car" signs. > People, especially those with NO child in the car, drive worse with one of those signs. I know it's hard to believe. -- ....!hplabs!faunt faunt%hplabs@csnet-relay.ARPA HP is not responsible for anything I say here. In fact, what I say here may have been generated by a noisy telephone line.
stv@qantel.UUCP (Steve Vance@ex2499) (07/29/85)
I always thought you got one of these signs free when you buy certain
brands of child car seats.
--
Steve Vance
{dual,hplabs,intelca,nsc,proper}!qantel!stv
dual!qantel!stv@berkeley
Qantel Corporation, Hayward, CArdp@teddy.UUCP (07/29/85)
In article <1843@amdahl.UUCP> dwl10@amdahl.UUCP (Dave Lowrey) writes: >> I'm looking for those signs that people are putting in car windows >> that say something about a "Child in car". Anyone that knows where I >> can find them, please send me some E-mail. Thank you. >> >Why? People will continue to drive like assholes, with or without >"Child in Car" signs. > >If you have an accident, are people more likely to rescue you >when you have one of those signs? > >Yet another sign of Yuppidom! :-) Well, maybe some people will continue to drive like assholes, but my experience is a little bit different. Before I had any children, cars that displayed these signs caught my attention, and I tended to give them just a little extra room. Now that I have three children (two of which are under 2 years old) I have noticed that some people afford me the same courtesy. One thing these signs may do is cause people to realize that someone driving with kids in the car has a few more distractions to deal with, and needs a bit more consideration. And, if I saw several cars involved in an accident, your damn right I would rescue the people in the car with the sign first! If the kids weren't involved, they still need their parents somewhat intact.
mayo@ucbvax.ARPA (Bob Mayo) (07/30/85)
Actually, these signs make a lot of sense. Just the other day I saw (on I-80) 2 other signs: "Caution: Race Horses" and "Caution: Show Dogs". Now, when I am about to crash into another car at high speed (killing myself and causing a trail of carnage down the expressway), all I have to do is count all of the little signs and run a cost/benefit analysis to see who I should plow into. --Bob Mayo P.S. Why should I be more concerned about plowing into a car with a kid in it that one with an adult? Should I be more concerned about plowing into cars with show dogs than cars that don't have show dogs? A better sign might be "look at my cute kid", and tape a picture next to it. Show dog owners and race horse owners could do the same. P.S.S. These signs are sometimes hard to read at high speeds. I have to pull up within 6 or 8 inches of the car in front in order to read the sign. Maybe somebody could come up with a larger model that fits on top of the car -- like taxi ads.
reid@Glacier.ARPA (Brian Reid) (07/31/85)
I had just assumed that a sign saying "child in car" was the same sort of warning as "student driver"--letting me know that I should be alert for the driver of the car doing something quite erratic when the child pulls the glasses off the driver's face or throws a doll that lands wedged under the brake pedal, or starts a tantrum that causes the driver to take his eyes off the road. On the other hand, I most frequently see these signs on the back of Volvo station wagons, which makes the signs somewhat redundant, because I am already very afraid of the kind of driver who would buy a Volvo station wagon; the knowledge that the driver may at any moment veer suddenly to the edge of the road to get out to re-buckle the child's seat belt and wash orange juice from the inside of the windshield does not make me any more afraid than I already am. -- Brian Reid decwrl!glacier!reid Stanford reid@SU-Glacier.ARPA
cjdb@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Charles Blair) (07/31/85)
I think if a child in the car is a distraction to the driver, then that car shouldn't be on the road, since other motorists have the right to expect that their fellow motorists are being fully attentive to what is going on around their cars, not in them. (Sorry, I omitted to quote the line I'm responding to.) However, the point of these signs, in my opinion (this was my initial reaction on seeing one for the first time) is to remind the "assholes", whatever good that will in fact do, that they are not sharing the road only with other "assholes", but with people who have a fundamental care about the safe outcome of their journey. I think such signs help to reduce the psychological isolation, again, whatever good that does, of drivers surrounded by "assholes," in that they have a visible indication that there are other concerned drivers on the road. Also, it is not necessary to be bumper-to-bumper to read such signs--you can see them quite easily from a neighboring lane on an expressway.
chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Laurie Sefton, C/O chuqui) (08/01/85)
Just a guess...
Since there are "child in this room" stickers for houses, might it not
make sense for a sticker to alert the ambulance/police personnel that there
might be a small body in the wreckage? And yes, I realize that the sticker
might be destroyed int the crash, but at least there's a chance that
*someone* will see it....
Laurie Sefton
--
:From the carousel of the autumn carnival: Chuq Von Rospach
{cbosgd,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA
Your fifteen minutes are up. Please step aside!dwl10@amdahl.UUCP (Dave Lowrey) (08/01/85)
> Since there are "child in this room" stickers for houses, might it not > make sense for a sticker to alert the ambulance/police personnel that there > might be a small body in the wreckage? And yes, I realize that the sticker > might be destroyed int the crash, but at least there's a chance that > *someone* will see it.... > True, but shouldn't the 'small body' be in it's car seat, or belted in? No need for a sign when the kids are where they are supposed to be. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Lowrey "To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question.... ....or is it?" ...!(<sun,cbosgd,ihnp4}!amdahl!dwl10 [ The opinions expressed <may> be those of the author and not necessarily those of his most eminent employer. ]
cem@intelca.UUCP (Chuck McManis) (08/01/85)
> P.S. Why should I be more concerned about plowing into a car with a kid in > it that one with an adult? Should I be more concerned about plowing into > cars with show dogs than cars that don't have show dogs? ... I think the point is missed here. When I asked a neighbor why they had a "Child in Car" sign, they said it was to inform rescue personal that they should look for a child in the car. The neighbors mentioned that they had bought it before they had a child seat and were worried that in the case of an accident their kid could end up in a not so obvious place. (I believe she mentioned under the seat as one such place.) Although somewhat macabre it sort of makes sense. They also have a "Child in House" for the firefighters. --Chuck -- "Unix, the Teco of Operating Systems." - - - D I S C L A I M E R - - - {ihnp4,fortune}!dual\ All opinions expressed herein are my {qantel,idi}-> !intelca!cem own and not those of my employer, my {ucbvax,hao}!hplabs/ friends, or my avocado plant. :-}
dws@tolerant.UUCP (Dave W. Smith) (08/04/85)
> I had just assumed that a sign saying "child in car" was the same sort of > warning as "student driver"--letting me know that I should be alert for the > driver of the car doing something quite erratic when the child pulls the > glasses off the driver's face or throws a doll that lands wedged under the > brake pedal, or starts a tantrum that causes the driver to take his eyes off > the road. ... > Brian Reid decwrl!glacier!reid > Stanford reid@SU-Glacier.ARPA I first saw these signs last fall in Germany. A local explained that the sign was intended to keep 200km/h Autobahn crazies from mowing down cars with children in them. (On the Autobahn, drivers who get rear-ended in the fast lane are considered to be at fault for not getting out of the way (this may not be the law, but it's what the tour-book said)). The yellow "Baby Am Bord" triangle is visible from a reasonable distance. I didn't notice any of these signs in use on cars without child occupants. -- David W. Smith {ucbvax}!tolerant!dws Tolerant Systems, Inc. 408/946-5667
itkin@luke.UUCP (Steven List) (08/04/85)
In article <925@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> cjdb@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Charles Blair) writes: >I think if a child in the car is a distraction to the driver, then that >car shouldn't be on the road, since other motorists have the right to >expect that their fellow motorists are being fully attentive to what is >going on around their cars, not in them. I hope there's a little room for some righteous parental indignation here! What would you suggest when one of the little ones says "Daddy, I gotta throw up" or "Daddy, Matthew's nose is bleeding" or you just hear some weird gargly choking noises? Just blithely keep driving? No, you react emotionally (unfortunately, this is virtuously synonymous with irrationally under these circumstances) and swing your head around to see what's going on or something. Safety dictates that the children should be in the back seat (car seats or not) if possible. There's just no choice sometimes. I'm not trying to justify weaving all over the road. But sometimes you can't help dividing your attention a bit if there's a problem or some other distracting event. -- *** * Steven List @ Benetics Corporation, Mt. View, CA * Just part of the stock at "Uncle Bene's Farm" * {cdp,greipa,idi,oliveb,sun,tolerant}!bene!luke!itkin ***
broman@noscvax.UUCP (Vincent P. Broman) (08/07/85)
> > I'm looking for those signs that people are putting in car windows > > that say something about a "Child in car". Anyone that knows where I > > can find them, please send me some E-mail. Thank you. > > > > Robert A. Pease > > {hplabs|zehntel|fortune|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!oliven!rap > > Why would anyone put such a sign in a car window? > obviously, when you people such a sign, they carefully avoid colliding with your car, having greater respect for your child's safety than your own. or possibly, to warn of erratic driving caused by the driver frantically grabbing someone in the back seat, or his being forced to play "guess who". funny isn't it, how most cars with this sign only have an adult inside at the time you see them. UUCP: sdcsvax!noscvax!broman Vincent Broman ARPA: broman@nosc Naval Ocean Systems Center, code 632 Phone: (619) 225-2365 San Diego, CA 92152