David Reid wrote:
> John Williamson's best pigeon dodged hawks and farmers' guns to bring me
> the following:
>>
>> The most effective way to slow drivers down is a sign that flashes the
>> speed limit at you as you approach. Some of them also flash up "Slow
>> down" or "Thank you", depending. No income, though, so councils don't
>> like them.
>>
> Do those things really work? There are several near me and it doesn't
> *seem* like the average motorist drives any more carefully in their
> presence than they would otherwise. I'm also fairly sure they react to
> cars speeding in the other direction too which seems a bit pointless.
>
The consensus is that they work more effectively than cameras. It's the
embarassment factor of a big bright sign telling you & your passengers &
everyone else that can see it that you're speeding that does the trick.
I often see my local one come on for a car & the whole queue following
it slows down to the limit or slightly below, so the sign stays dark. As
against seeing the camera flash for every car in a queue where the lead
driver gets it slightly wrong.
Sort of like having a big neon sign over your car saying "Idiot". At the
very least, most drivers will glance at their speedo to see just how far
over the limit they are.
For cheapness, they're usually just a cheap radar unit, so they do
respond to both directions. The ones that don't cost more, as they need
a sensing loop in the road.
--
Tciao for Now!
John. |