Optical Speedbumps Create Illusion of Little Girl

An anonymous reader writes "Civil authorities around the world have tried all kinds of tricks to get drivers to slow down: speed bumps, rumble strips, flashing lights, the decoy police cruiser, and of course the good old-fashioned speed trap. The British Columbia Automobile Association Traffic Safety Foundation is taking a different tack: scaring the living hell out of drivers. In an effort to brusquely remind drivers of the consequences of wanton acceleration, they're painting an elongated image of a child chasing a ball into the street in 2-D on the pavement in such a way that it appears three-dimensional."

Wrecks

[cygnwolf]

While I realize that they're trying to make people slow down here, I'm afraid they're going to cause a lot of wrecks too when people swerve to avoid the little girl, or slam on the brakes and loose control, etc. And worse, what happens when people get used to seeing it and start ignoring it? Then not only is it not making people slow down, it's a potential for making them disregard a real child in the road.

Re:

[SleazyRidr]

And worse, what happens when people get used to seeing it and start ignoring it? Then not only is it not making people slow down, it's a potential for making them disregard a real child in the road.

That's the first thing I thought when I heard about this on the radio this morning. I'm quite disappointed to see this story hidden in idle.

Re:

[cygnwolf]

I agree, I only found it because it showed up on my /. gadget on my igoogle page, and went hunting for it so I could post a reply. I normally don't browse idle.

Re:

[NevarMore]

They aren't "causing" wrecks. If you cannot avoid an obstacle and react to it without swerving off the road you need more training.

I do agree with your remark on "getting used to it".

Re:

[SleazyRidr]

It depends on how the do it. If they display the little girl right in front of you, I'd wager that 8/10 drivers would quickly find themselves in an unsafe situation. If it's a little ways up ahead and it's more of a reminder that you should be careful then it might drop to 2-3/10.

Re:

[cygnwolf]

The problem is, there's way too many drivers on the road who do need more training, who are going to see this and be going so fast they feel the need to swerve instead of stop.

Why?

[wiedzmin]

What was wrong with the good-old "slow down or pay to fix your suspension" speedbumps? I've never seen anyone ignore one of those on purpose...

Re:

[Farmer Tim]

I've never seen anyone ignore one of those on purpose...

I have, and the crunching noise a low spoiler makes is extremely satisfying.

Forced Perspective

[bill_mcgonigle]

Some not for evil [impactlab.net] examples.