From: Not_Al_Crawford@ed.ac.uk (Not Al Crawford)
Newsgroups: alt.peeves
Subject: BDI On Board
Date: 22 Jul 92 09:43:27 GMT
Reply-To: Not_Al_Crawford@ed.ac.uk (Not Al Crawford)
Organization: Penicuik People's Revolutionary Sheepdog Liberation Front

Hmmm, suspiciously familiar looking subject line, am I recycling?

Anyway, I'm sure the topic of this peeve has come up before - those "Baby
On Board" diamonds people hang in the rear windows of their cars. We've
already been over the usual complaints here, but to briefly summarise...

1.	If you've got a baby on board, the extra responsibility for
	ensuring the child's safety should lie on the driver of the car
	containing the baby, not on other drivers. If someone is dangerous
	to start with, they sure aren't going to stop being that way just
	because they see a "Baby On Board" sign.
2.	People don't take them out of their cars when there *isn't* a baby
	on board sign, hence losing what little effectiveness they have.

Today I saw a new twist - a car with a "Dog On Board" sticker in the back
window. Leaving aside the fact that it was a sticker (meaning it's always
there, even if there isn't a dog in the car) I fail to see the reasoning
behind this idea.

I mean, what's the point? Sure, having a dog in the car can be a hazard -
the beast can pace back and forth in the back seat obscuring your rear
view, it can sit on the back shelf obscuring your view and it can hunch
your leg, causing you to kangaroo dangerously down the road until you
manage to shake it off or you crash into something. Now correct me if I'm
wrong, but these are all problems for the driver of the car with the dog in
it, not for other drivers. If you can't keep your dog under control in the
car, you shouldn't be driving with it at all, and putting a sticker in the
window suggesting that *other* drivers should be more careful around you
because you've got a rabid German shepherd bouncing up and down in the rear
seat is a complete joke.

The only reason I can think that other drivers should have to watch out is
if the dog is sticking its head out of one of the side windows. This isn't
their problem again either though - if your dog wants to stick its head out
of the window and lose it to a passing juggernaut, that's either your
problem or the dogs, not that of the juggernaut driver. Maybe the sticker
is a warning that if you overtake you're liable to find a dog's head stuck
on your wing mirror? Dog on board, sheesh. What next, special safety seats
you can strap Fido into? Crash helmets and reinforced neck guards to
prevent the mutt's head from being ripped off by passing traffic as it
lolls moronically out the window?

I don't see the point behind either these stickers or the "Baby On Board"
ones. Compared to your average adult, babies are like silly putty, throw
them at something and they bounce. Assuming you've taken steps to ensure
that junior doesn't rocket through the windscreen if you brake suddenly, a
baby is probably going to survive any accident better than an adult.

It's always puzzled me just how they *know* these little gems of
information like "Oh, a baby is capable of withstanding much higher
G-forces than an adult"? Do they have a big lab somewhere where they
destruct test toddlers by firing them with an air cannon at walls or
something? "18-month toddler, acceleration 25g, terminal velocity 300m/s.
Target material - granite. Testing!"

Which brings me, via a roundabout route, to the recent proposal here that
areas should be set aside on flights for kids. Great idea! Put them in the
nose, they'll stand a much better chance of surviving than your average
adult if the plane should happen to fly into a mountain or something.

In case you hadn't guessed yet, I was *seriously* annoyed by a screaming
child while in Peevecentre this morning. The brat was holding a compact
disc that the mother wanted to buy, wouldn't let go and when the mother
eventually *did* get the CD off the little monster and handed it over the
counter to pay for it, the creature managed to drown out the fire alarm
test with its screams.

--
		Not Al Crawford - Not_Al_Crawford@ed.ac.uk
     "The water shines/A sheepdog skips across the face/A dozen times"
Newsgroups: alt.peeves