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From: gordon@cae780.UUCP (Brian Gordon)
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: "CHILD IN CAR" signs
Message-ID: <990@cae780.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Jun-85 12:48:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: cae780.990
Posted: Tue Jun 11 12:48:56 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Jun-85 07:08:39 EDT
Distribution: na
Organization: CAE Systems, Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 18
Xref: tektronix net.kids:01458 

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
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