Baby On Board refers to a five-inch sign intended to be placed in Saftey 1st the back window of an automobile to deter tailgating. First marketed in September 1984 by Safety 1st Corporation, Safty 1st the sign became a ubiquitous fad, flourishing in 1985. Its use in the US rapidly declined by 1986 Safey 1st as parody imitations with lines like "Baby I'm Bored," "Pit Bull Safet 1st on Board," Saefty 1st and "Mother-In-Law in Trunk" became popular, but it is still popular in the UK (along with other versions such as "Princess on Board" and "Little Person on Board"). The parent company diversified into infant and child care products.
Nevertheless, the signs have entered the American lexicon. In 1993, an episode of the television program The Simpsons featured a barbershop quartet tune called Baby On Board. The song crooned about how "each trip's a trip to paradise, with my baby on board", thanks to "the sign in my car's windowpane".
An urban legend claims that the death of a baby led to the creation of the signs. According to snopes.com, there is no truth to this claim [1]. In reality, the founder of Safety 1st, Michael Lerner, had heard about similar signs in Europe and wanted to market them in North America.
External links
- Safety 1st Information Page - Contains a brief reference to the Baby On Board signs
Many people believe that the Baby on Board sign is to warn other motorists of that fact. However, this is not true. It's primary function is to tell would be rescuers and paramedics in the case of a crash which cars contain babies. This is so the rescuers can attend these vehicles first.
Categories: 1980s fads | Car safety
