From the mid to late 1980s , the most omnipresent route sign did n’t advise you to terminate , obey the swiftness limit , or be mindful of crossing cervid . Instead , it was diamond - shaped , used a black - on - white-livered color scheme , and came with a stern warning for nearby machine driver : There was a babe on table .
The suction - cupped alert that gravel to a machine ’s rearward or side windows were originally designed to notify circumvent traffic that an infant was in their midst , the musical theme being that drivers would either slow down or take note that a exhausted ordistractedparent was operating a motor fomite ahead of them . In the summertime of 1985 , barely a year after its debut , the Baby on Board signaling had been affix to more than3 million elevator car , with 500,000 being sold each month .
It was a windfall for former genuine the three estates investor and Brookline , Massachusetts resident Michael Lerner , who spent$65,000of his own money to start Safety 1st , a baby - focalise consumer sword that marketed everything from poisonous substance watchful label to voiced faucet caps so that infant would n’t hurt their head in the bathtub . Lerner , who had no children of his own , recalledfeeling anxious as he drove his 18 - month old nephew home from a mob assemblage in a congested dealings arena ; he subsequently obtained the rights to Baby on Board from two baby , Patricia and Helen Bradley , who had seen a alike sign in Europe but did n’t know how to peddle it to prospective buyers .
Neither did retailers . Lerner spent much of his clip trying to convince department stock that the signal belong in the infant section , not their automotive display : He believe the product was a rubber gadget , not a novelty . The claim fell on indifferent ears until he adjoin with a buyer for the now - defunct Bradlees chain of mountains . The computer memory was making an strong-growing push for child gondola seats andfeltLerner ’s pitch fit their scheme perfectly .
Once Bradlees began carrying it , other store like Sears and toy " radius " Us followed courting — and by 1986 , the distinctive yellow signs had become as vulgar as a scanty tire .
While Lerner was profiting handsomely , he was seeing only a fraction of the car polarity industry ’s total revenue . Once Baby on Board catch on , it became easy for company to construct parody replicas : Baby Driving , Grandma on Board , Ex - Husband in Trunk , and Illiterate on Bord were all snapped up by more cynical number one wood who felt the original polarity was silly to suggest they ’d be aim aggressively if not for the warning . At one point , the knock - offsoutnumberedLerner ’s sign by five to one on route in the New York metropolitan area .
Lerner and his ironist had one matter in common : road condom experts had uttermost reservations about the signs , which could potentially obstruct the number one wood ’s view through the rear window . While some states approved them put up they were stuck to the lower one-half of the trash , others were more aggressive . North Carolina lawinsistednothing be placed on the window ; Maryland had police force officers giving driver a$30 ticketfor the infraction . In 1986 , the Insurance Information Institutedeclaredthe signs posed a chance for driver who could become distracted by essay to read them , prompting a dealings accident . They also convey concern rescue workers could risk trauma by hear to untangle a baby who may not even be on display panel at the meter of a collision .
Lerner dismiss the phantom - child brand , insisting the sign was designed to be removed when the baby was absent and feel it kick in to more responsible driving . While it was impossible to discern whether it actually made a difference , the parodies certainly did : Baby Carries No Cash and other put-on helped bestow to window decal fatigue , prompting Safety 1st to focus on other production like tub seats and door sign that could secernate canvasser a baby was numb inside . In 2000 , Lerner sell the troupe to Dorel for $ 38 million . In 2014 , the ownersestimatedmore than 10 million signs had been sold .
One of them was buy by a young man advert Freddy Franco . Accordingto an April 1987 reputation in Florida’sNews - Journal , Franco was drive on Interstate 95 when a police officer spot the polarity and overstretch him over . After grow suspicious of Franco ’s nervousness , the officer searched the fomite . In gain to being in violation of a province legal philosophy banning anything from rear window , Franco also had 15 pound of cocaine hidden in compartment . There was no babe .
