Even though Madison isn't some big city, we still get traffic reports on the radio during the morning and evening commutes.

Normally the news from the road is that the Beltline is crowded and it's going to take you some time to get through campus. Occasionally there's an accident on the Interstate and, if things are really exciting, there's a truck overturned somewhere spilling some kind of vegetable, grain or dairy product on the street.

Today, I heard something completely new. People with small children in their cars were warned to stay away from a particular downtown intersection because pro-life demonstrators were holding up gory signs that might scare the kids.

I saw what I'm assuming are the same demonstrators a few weeks ago at a busy intersection near my office. I was appalled by the signs. No one needs to see that, and certainly little kids don't. No matter what your political beliefs, there's no need to traumatize people to try to get your point across.

I'm hoping that this particular station will get so many grateful calls from motorists who were able to avoid the protest that they'll start to provide this type of information more often. In the future, maybe I'll be able to avoid the next "No Blood for Oil" march or a PETA protest or even the inevitable Hillary for President rally.