Road safety measures: Is this a good or a bad idea? (see details)

I agree with you. I can see it causing drivers to slam on their breaks and I could also see it desensitizing drivers to children actually being in the streets. I would imagine after driving over it for a while, people would just ignore it, but if for some reason an actual child was in that area, the driver may not differentiate right away and it would effect their reaction time (causing them to hit the child instead of being able to stop).

I think it will eventually end up being more problematic than useful in the long run. Initially I can see it as a deterrent to speeders but for inattentive drivers, it’s going to cause sudden stops and quick speed changes which can be hazardous to surrounding traffic.

Additionally, once people get used to the illusion and revert back to normal driving habits and speeds where these ‘safety measures’ are located, they’re not going to be prepared enough for when an actual road emergency (a child or pet in the street, etc.) actually occurs.

The city should really consider more police presence in the area running radar and issuing citations or placing speed humps at intervals in the roadway if the problem is that prevalent.

I think within a few weeks every driver in the area will be used to it and behave the way they do right now. I don’t think it is dangerous, but it is certainly worthless.

I don’t know. I heard a piece about this on NPR yesterday or the day before and it didn’t seem too be either that great or that good an idea to me. They are going to test it for a while and see how it goes.

I do not approve of that method. It looks very scary. It could cause needless anxiety, and perhaps even lead to a heart attack in an older driver.

@Bluefreedom – yeah, drivers WILL go back to normal driving habits but when they do, I say we dress up child molesters in that hologram girls outfit and let nature take it’s course!

@stratman37. That’s a very interesting idea. Hmmm…....... =)

It is a novel idea but I don’t think it’s all that effective. After a while the novelty will wear off and drivers will just pass over it like it’s nothing. Good thing it’s only going to be up for a week. I commend the school for attempting to raise awareness on the issue but the school should do what other schools do and put in reduced speed limit signs or even stop lights. There was an accident in front of the high school I graduated from. A teenager was driving the speed limit, 35 mph in front of the school. It is a busy street. Another student was crossing the street at the time and was killed crossing the street by being hit by another student. My school put up more stop lights, reduced the speed limit and added a lane to the road to help deal with the traffic. There were more police cars patrolling that particular street for weeks after. It was a tragic way to make people proactive enough to make a change. The school could ask for more police patrol coverage to help get the idea to drivers to please slow down and watch the road.