Residents Resort to Homemade Signs to Slow Speeders

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. When people feel the need to protect their families and their neighborhood, they can get very creative. In Homewood, AL, residents have posted hand lettered signs reading “Slow Down; People Live Here”. The speed limit on Valley Avenue is 35 mph. However, residents say that motorists routinely fly past at much higher speeds.

The implementation of traffic-calming measures can be a lengthy and expensive process. It is easy to imagine the desperation parents must feel when driver after driver ignores posted speed limits in their rush to arrive at their destination. In New York City, anti-speeding activists have also been putting up signs. These 20 mph signs are designed to look like legitimate speed limit signs. Activists placed these imposters in areas where communities have applied for traffic-calming programs and were either denied or are awaiting implementation.

These actions are understandable considering the life-threatening dangers of speeding. Unfortunately static signs have very little, if any, effect on speeders. The installation of radar speed signs has been proven to have an immediate and lasting impact on speeding. Many drivers are unaware of their own speed and simply drive based on the feel of the road. The flashing of actual speeds to a driver alerts them to their excess speed, and for most drivers, their natural inclination is to slow down.

Charlie Robeson: Radarsign™ Co-founder & Director of Sales and Marketing