Remember those “Baby on Board” signs? Why we might want to put them back on...

Baby on Board...

That five inch yellow caution sign was all the rage in the 1980s, displayed in the back windows of cars carrying kids across the U.S. There is new evidence suggesting those might have actually worked. For a study published in Accident Analysis and Prevention, male and female drivers were asked to look at some photos before participating in a simulated driving test. The images included some random objects, a patrolling policeman and a smiling baby. 

After the driving test, participants were scored for safety and the baby group won. They took fewer risks and exercised more caution, regardless of gender, age or driving experience. The drivers who looked at the cop scored the same as the random object group.

If you’re wondering what inspired the first Baby on Board sign, it was not the death of an infant, contrary to urban legend. According to Snopes, Michael Lerner founded the kid-friendly Safety 1st company in 1984 in order to produce the signs here which were becoming a sticker sensation in Europe.